Very often, we associate the dawn of modern financial theory with Harry Markowitz who in the 1950s introduced the formal mathematics of probability theory to the problem of managing risk in an asset portfolio. The 1970s saw the advent of formal models for pricing options and other derivative contracts, whose primary purpose was also financial risk management and hedging. But events in the 1990s made it clear that effective risk management is a critical element for success, and indeed, for long term survival, not only for financial institutions, but also for industrial firms, and even for nonprofit organizations and governmental bodies. These recent events vividly show that the world is filled with all manner of risks, and so risk management must extend far beyond the use of standard derivative instruments in routine hedging applications. The articles in this volume cover two broad themes. One theme emphasizes methods for identifying, modeling, and hedging specific types of financial and business risks. Articles in this category consider the technology of risk measurement, such as Value at Risk and extreme value theory; new classes of risk, such as liquidity risk; new financial instruments and markets for risk management, such as derivative contracts based on weather and on catastrophic insurance risks; and finally, credit risk, which has become one of the most important areas of practical interest for risk management. The second theme stresses risk management from the perspective of the firm and the financial system as a whole. Articles in this category analyze risk management in the international arena, including payment and settlement risks and sovereign risk pricing, risk management from the regulator's viewpoint, and risk management for financial institutions. The articles in this volume examine the "State of the Art" in risk management from the standpoint of academic researchers, market analysts and practitioners, and government observers.

Ratings, Rating Agencies and the Global Financial System brings together the research of economists at New York University and the University of Maryland, along with those from the private sector, government bodies, and other universities. The first section of the volume focuses on the historical origins of the credit rating business and its present day industrial organization structure. The second section presents several empirical studies crafted largely around individual firm-level or bank-level data. These studies examine (a) the relationship between ratings and the default and recovery experience of corporate borrowers, (b) the comparability of credit ratings made by domestic and foreign rating agencies, and (c) the usefulness of financial market indicators for rating banks, among other topics. In the third section, the record of sovereign credit ratings in predicting financial crises and the reaction of financial markets to changes in credit ratings is examined. The final section of the volume emphasizes policy issues now facing regulators and credit rating agencies.

In a little over one decade, the spread of market-oriented policies has turned the once so-called lesser developed countries into emerging markets. Many forces have been responsible for the tremendous growth in emerging markets. Trends toward market-oriented policies that permit private ownership of economic activities, such as public utilities and telecommunications, are part of the explanation. Corporate restructuring, following the debt crisis of the early 1980's has permitted many emerging market companies to gain international competitiveness. And an essential condition, a basic sea-change in economic policy, has opened up many emerging markets to international investors. This growth in emerging markets has been accompanied by volatility in individual markets, and a sector-wide shock after the meltdown in the Mexican Bolsa and Mexican peso, resulting in heated debate over the nature of these markets. Emerging market capital flows continue to be the subject of intense discussion around the world among investors, academics, and policymakers. Emerging Market Capital Flows examines the issues of emerging market capital flows from several distinct perspectives, addressing a number of related questions about emerging markets.

The business of credit ratings began in the United States in the early 1900s. Over time, credit ratings have gradually taken on an expanding role, both in the United States and abroad and in official financial market regulation as well as in private capital market decisions. However, in 1999 the Bank for International Settlements (through its Committee on Banking Supervision) proposed rule changes that would provide an explicit role for credit ratings in determining a bank's required regulatory risk capital. Once implemented, this BIS proposal (often referred to as Basel 2) would vastly elevate the importance of credit ratings by linking the required measure of bank capital to the credit rating of the bank's obligors. With these regulatory changes under active discussion, research into the role for ratings and rating agencies in the global financial system is particularly apropos.
Ratings, Rating Agencies and the Global Financial System brings together the research of economists at New York University and the University of Maryland, along with those from the private sector, government bodies, and other universities. The first section of the volume focuses on the historical origins of the credit rating business and its present day industrial organization structure. The second section presents several empirical studies crafted largely around individual firm-level or bank-level data. These studies examine (a) the relationship between ratings and the default and recovery experience of corporate borrowers, (b) the comparability of credit ratings made by domestic and foreign rating agencies, and (c) the usefulness of financial market indicators for rating banks, among other topics. In thethird section, the record of sovereign credit ratings in predicting financial crises and the reaction of financial markets to changes in credit ratings is examined. The final section of the volume emphasizes policy issues now facing regulators and credit rating agencies.

Very often, we associate the dawn of modern financial theory with Harry Markowitz who in the 1950s introduced the formal mathematics of probability theory to the problem of managing risk in an asset portfolio. The 1970s saw the advent of formal models for pricing options and other derivative contracts, whose primary purpose was also financial risk management and hedging. But events in the 1990s made it clear that effective risk management is a critical element for success, and indeed, for long term survival, not only for financial institutions, but also for industrial firms, and even for nonprofit organizations and governmental bodies. These recent events vividly show that the world is filled with all manner of risks, and so risk management must extend far beyond the use of standard derivative instruments in routine hedging applications. The articles in this volume cover two broad themes. One theme emphasizes methods for identifying, modeling, and hedging specific types of financial and business risks. Articles in this category consider the technology of risk measurement, such as Value at Risk and extreme value theory; new classes of risk, such as liquidity risk; new financial instruments and markets for risk management, such as derivative contracts based on weather and on catastrophic insurance risks; and finally, credit risk, which has become one of the most important areas of practical interest for risk management. The second theme stresses risk management from the perspective of the firm and the financial system as a whole. Articles in this category analyze risk management in the international arena, including payment and settlement risks and sovereign risk pricing, risk management from the regulator's viewpoint, and risk management for financial institutions. The articles in this volume examine the "State of the Art" in risk management from the standpoint of academic researchers, market analysts and practitioners, and government observers.

In a little over one decade, the spread of market-oriented policies has turned the once so-called lesser developed countries into emerging markets. Many forces have been responsible for the tremendous growth in emerging markets. Trends toward market-oriented policies that permit private ownership of economic activities, such as public utilities and telecommunications, are part of the explanation. Corporate restructuring, following the debt crisis of the early 1980's has permitted many emerging market companies to gain international competitiveness. And an essential condition, a basic sea-change in economic policy, has opened up many emerging markets to international investors. This growth in emerging markets has been accompanied by volatility in individual markets, and a sector-wide shock after the meltdown in the Mexican Bolsa and Mexican peso, resulting in heated debate over the nature of these markets. Emerging market capital flows continue to be the subject of intense discussion around the world among investors, academics, and policymakers. Emerging Market Capital Flows examines the issues of emerging market capital flows from several distinct perspectives, addressing a number of related questions about emerging markets.

This is a reprint of a previously published book. It consists of a series of papers by experts in the field on how the exchange rate volatility of the 1980s affected the financial policies of international firms.

The deregulation of financial markets in various nations in the 1980s brought about a qualitative change in their operation and a greater degree of integration among these markets. These changes enabled the free flow of financial resources across borders, which allows private and public institutions in each economy the ability to draw on the strengths of foreign markets to meet their individual needs. But many observers in Japan, Europe, North America and elsewhere fear that the new freedom has contributed to a greater instability in individual markets and the transmission of fluctuations to other markets. The introduction and individual chapters in this 1994 book examine the ramifications of these trends.