Abstract:

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This thesis studies the impacts of credit ratings in several dimensions. The first paper studies the impact of the sovereign ceiling policies in the Municipal Bond markets. Firms at the sovereign ceiling are relatively more affected following a sovereign downgrade. The second paper quantifies the impact of stringent rating criteria from credit rating agencies in investment grade and speculative grade firms. The former is significantly more affected by changes in criteria. The third paper access the impact in firm’s leverage, debt issuance and cash holdings from past changes in credit ratings. Unpredicted changes in credit ratings drive most firm’s reactions.

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This PhD Dissertation was presented by Mário Meira as part of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics. You can access the paper here.

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