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Rating Agencies: An Experimental Analysis of their Remuneration Model

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  • Christoph Buehren

    (University of Kassel)

  • Marco Plessner

Abstract

Does it matter who pays for ratings? Yes, but not for the rating agencies' behavior. These are the findings of our experiment where we analyze the effect of the remuneration model of rating agencies on their assessments as well as on investors' and issuers' behavior. First, we find that rating agencies' assessments are comparable whether the agency is (partially) paid by issuers, investors, or solely by the experimenter. Issuers, on the other hand, more often do not return investor's trust when they or investors pay for ratings. Further, investors more often act according to the agencies' recommendations when they have to pay for this information.Does it matter who pays for ratings? Yes, but not for the rating agencies' behavior. These are the findings of our experiment where we analyze the effect of the remuneration model of rating agencies on their assessments as well as on investors' and issuers' behavior. First, we find that rating agencies' assessments are comparable whether the agency is (partially) paid by issuers, investors, or solely by the experimenter. Issuers, on the other hand, more often do not return investor's trust when they or investors pay for ratings. Further, investors more often act according to the agencies' recommendations when they have to pay for this information.

Suggested Citation

  • Christoph Buehren & Marco Plessner, 2014. "Rating Agencies: An Experimental Analysis of their Remuneration Model," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201454, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    • Handle: RePEc:mar:magkse:201454
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    File URL: https://www.uni-marburg.de/fb02/makro/forschung/magkspapers/54-2014_buehren.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Duff, Angus & Einig, Sandra, 2009. "Credit ratings quality: The perceptions of market participants and other interested parties," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 141-153.
    3. Ann-Renée Blais & Elke U. Weber, 2006. "A Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (DOSPERT)Scale for Adult Populations," CIRANO Working Papers 2006s-24, CIRANO.
    4. Nelson Camanho & Pragyan Deb & Zijun Liu, 2022. "Credit rating and competition," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 2873-2897, July.
    5. repec:cup:judgdm:v:1:y:2006:i::p:33-47 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Daylian M. Cain & George Loewenstein & Don A. Moore, 2011. "When Sunlight Fails to Disinfect: Understanding the Perverse Effects of Disclosing Conflicts of Interest," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(5), pages 836-857.
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