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Sovereign credit ratings, growth volatility and the global financial crisis

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  • Hassan
  • Eliza Wu

Abstract

Using monthly data from January 1996 to May 2010 for a panel of 76 developed and emerging economies and adopting an instrumental variable (IV) estimation technique by correcting for both heterogeneity and endogeneity with the generalized two-stage least squares (G2SLS, EC2SLS) procedure method suggested by Balestra and Varadharajan-Krishnakumar (1987) and Baltagi and Li (1995), this article provides empirical evidence that volatility of per capita GDP growth is reduced when there are positive changes in credit ratings; in other words when sovereign credit risk improves. To deal with potential simultaneity between sovereign credit ratings and output volatility, a system (3SLS) approach is undertaken, and our findings remain robust. By weakening the volatility dampening effects of ratings changes, it is found that the global financial crisis ( GFC ) has enhanced macroeconomic volatility. One of the channels via which sovereign rating changes affect growth volatility is the financial markets' repricing of sovereign default risk that is reflected in sovereign credit default swap (CDS) spreads and its volatility.

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  • Hassan & Eliza Wu, 2015. "Sovereign credit ratings, growth volatility and the global financial crisis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(54), pages 5825-5840, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:47:y:2015:i:54:p:5825-5840
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2015.1058910
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    Cited by:

    1. Sahibzada, Irfan Ullah, 2023. "To what extent do sovereign rating actions affect global equity market sectors?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 240-261.
    2. Sahibzada, Irfan Ullah & Rizwan, Muhammad Suhail & Qureshi, Anum, 2022. "Impact of sovereign credit ratings on systemic risk and the moderating role of regulatory reforms: An international investigation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    3. Francisco López-Herrera & Domingo Rodríguez Benavides & César Gurrola Ríos, 2019. "Spillovers entre el S&Poor500 y los principales EMBIG latinoamericanos," Remef - Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas Nueva Época REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance), Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas, IMEF, vol. 14(PNEA), pages 527-540, Agosto 20.
    4. Marius Cristian Miloș, 2021. "Impact of MiFID II on the Market Volatility—Analysis on Some Developed and Emerging European Stock Markets," Laws, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-11, June.

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