Cover -- Half Title -- Series Information -- Title Page -- Dedication -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- List of figures and tables -- List of abbreviations -- Introduction -- Why CRAs have become important -- The CRAs' role in the global financial crisis of 2008 -- Current...

What are the rationales for policymakers to rely on putatively disinterested actors such as credit rating agencies (CRAs) for financial regulatory input? This paper draws on perspectives from International Political Economy and Comparative Legal Studies to analyze the reasons behind the use and...

Die politische Dimension der Finanzmärkte kulminiert in der Bewertung der Kreditwürdigkeit souveräner Staaten. Die vorliegende Dissertation untersucht die strukturelle, nicht-intentionale Macht, die von Staatenratings in der diskursiven Konstruktion staatlicher Zahlungsfähigkeit ausgeübt...

The second chapter aims to calculate maximum sustainable debt ratios in advanced economies. We estimate a model based on countries' economic fundamentals. The model incorporates feedback effects between interest rates and debt ratios, allows for multi-period debt and considers different fiscal...