The authors conducted a global study of the long-term issuer ratings of nonfinancial firms from Standard and Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) for the period 1998–2003. Specifically, they focused on the solicited versus unsolicited ratings and sample-selection bias in the analysis. Unlike the...

Informal finance plays an important role in transitional economies with weak legal institutions, like China. As a major informal finance instrument, trade credit relies on informal institutions and enforcement. We argue that religion enhances the ethical climate in which firms do business, and...