Table of Contents

Introduction.-The Booms and Busts of the Sovereign Rating Activity.-Definition, Typology, and Refinement of Sovereign Ratings.-How Are Sovereign Ratings Assigned?.-Moody’s Sovereign Ratings: 1918–1939 and 1986–2006 Compared.-Sovereign Rating Methodologies: From Theory to Practice.-Consistency and Performance of Sovereign Ratings during the Interwar Years.-Consistency and Performance of Sovereign Ratings since the 1980s.-Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P Sovereign Ratings and EMBI Global Spreads: Lessons from 1993-2007.-The Limits of Sovereign Ratings in Light of the Greek Debt Crisis of 2009–2010.-Conclusion