Abstract

This paper focuses on the credit rating of Southern Italy firms, by using the Multi Objective Rating Evaluation Model (MORE), based on the accounting data taken from the Bureau van Dijk's Amadeus database. Solvency classes are set by firms' size and sectoral breakdown. With reference to manufacturing and service industries, firms' credit rating is also analyzed by taking into account the different technological degrees of the innovation clusters the firms belong to. Data show that technical rating composition is quite similar in Southern Italy regions. Specifically, despite an overall good state of health, most firms in Southern Italy present some critical points that, if not promptly solved, might lead to a deeper financial crisis. Moreover, with the exception of Puglia and Sardinia, the highest credit rating is ascribed to micro-enterprises which make up about the 90% of the analyzed sample. As to sectoral breakdown, the most numerous sectors, that is construction and retailing sectors, are characterized by a relatively low percentage of firms with a positive technical rating. On the contrary, the highest credit rating pertains to the less numerous sectors of the analyzed sample. The solvency analysis by technological innovation clusters shows that the percentage of firms with a very good financial solidity increases as the technological intensity of the cluster rises.