The paper focuses on the effects of three different internal bank ratings - Risk-, Property- and Creditworthiness-Rating - on the loan maturity. We use a sample of about 5,000 loans given to sole proprietors and corporate borrowers by two German banks from January 2003 till July 2005. The...

Im Zuge der Umsetzung von Basel II ringen deutsche Banken darum, ein möglichst effizientes Rating-System aufzubauen. Erklärtes Ziel ist es, in Zukunft Kreditvergabe und -konditionen vor allem auf der Basis von Rating-Kennziffern zu treffen. Im Folgenden wird anhand von anonymisierten...

This paper explores the persistence of financial dollarization in a group of 79 economies with different levels of development. Our main hypothesis is that a high level of domestic debt combined with default risk explains this persistence, even after a decline in inflation rates. Using the...

Los programas de microfinanzas, a la vez que estrategia para reducir la pobreza, pueden tener efecto en el desempeño escolar de los hijos de sus clientes. Este trabajo utiliza datos de tres encuestas realizadas a hogares clientes de organizaciones microfinancieras en Bolivia, para examinar...

This paper studies the influence of the state of the business cycle on credit ratings. In particular, we assess whether rating agencies are excessively procyclical in their assignment of ratings. Our analysis is based on a model of ratings determination that takes into account factors that...

This paper analyses the through-the-cycle rating concept; basically, we try to specify its main characteristics, focusing on the differences with point-in-time ratings. We also discuss the effects of this methodology on the prediction power of default probabilities, on the stability of those...

The present paper develops a simple asymmetrical informational model that allows us to understand the individual´s willingness to participate in a strike. We develop and compare two signaling models of strikes: in one, firms are able to monitor and enforce hours and offer different workweeks to...

The present paper aims at explaining strike incidence, measured by the proportion of strikers observed in each sector, and strike severeness, proxied by a measure of mean strike hours lost per worker in each industry. We find that Industry concentration dissuades striking – more concentrated...

Background. In Spain's "MIR" system of allocating residency training positions, medical school graduates are ranked according to their performance on a national exam and then sequentially choose from the remaining available training slots. We studied how changes in the MIR system might address...

The paper investigates the use of collateral in the Argentine banking system by exploiting a rich dataset administered by the Central Bank (Central de Deudores). The study focuses on commercial loans to firms with balance sheet information available over the 2001-2005 period. The first part...