Borrowing Credibility

“The rigorous and detailed qualitative and quantitative evidence that Grittersová presents ensures that Borrowing Credibility will become the definitive treatment of monetary reform and financial integration in Eastern Europe.”
—Thomas Oatley, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“In Borrowing Credibility, Jana Grittersová makes an important contribution to international political economy by showing that global banks provide previously unrecognized benefits to developing countries’ creditworthiness and financial stability. This book will definitely shape how both scholars and policymakers approach the role of international banks.”
—J. Lawrence Broz, University of California, San Diego

"Credibility is essential for effective economic policy, but it is elusive as an attribute of governments and as an analytic concept. In this important book, Jana Grittersova gives this elusive concept new content. She explains and then documents how governments in Central Europe, and in emerging markets generally, have been able to gain credibility through their interaction with foreign banks. Borrowing Credibility is a major contribution to the theoretical and empirical literatures in international relations and international economics alike."
—Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley

“In Borrowing Credibility, Jana Grittersová addresses a central problem for transition and developing-economy governments: how to establish a reputation for monetary and financial reliability. She suggests that governments can “import” this reputation by attracting well-known foreign financial institutions to set up shop. With well-designed and informative case studies from Eastern and Central Europe and Latin America, and a cross-national statistical analysis, she shows that foreign bank presence can help governments demonstrate their willingness and ability to provide an environment of low inflation and financial stability. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with monetary and financial issues in developing, emerging, and transition economies.”
—Jeffry Frieden, Harvard University

“Borrowing Credibility persuasively argues that transition countries with little or no track record in monetary and financial regulatory policy can “borrow” the good reputation of more advanced countries by encouraging the entry of prestigious multinational banks. This study challenges conventional wisdom that links such credible commitment to the establishment of legally independent central banks or membership in international organizations. Rather, drawing on impressive quantitative and qualitative evidence, it demonstrates that only the presence of these foreign and private financial actors can successfully lend rapid monetary and fiscal credibility to an economy in transition. It will be of significant interest to scholars of international and postcommunist political economy, economists, and financial policymakers.”
—Juliet Johnson, McGill University