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Sovereign Risk: Are the EU's New Member States Different? *
Author(s) -
Hauner David,
Jonas Jiri,
Kumar Manmohan Singh
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
oxford bulletin of economics and statistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.131
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1468-0084
pISSN - 0305-9049
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0084.2010.00589.x
Subject(s) - credibility , sovereignty , member states , european union , currency , international economics , business , basis point , monetary economics , financial system , economics , international trade , political science , law , politics , interest rate
This article examines whether rating agencies and investors perceive the sovereign risk of the new member states (NMS) of the European Union (EU) as different from that of other emerging markets. The results suggest the NMS have enjoyed favourable treatment since somewhere between 2002 and 2004, amounting to an advantage of 1.8 notches in ratings and 100 basis points in foreign currency spreads. We argue that, although several explanations of this effect are possible, it is most likely because of higher policy credibility bestowed by EU membership.