2019/09/04 by Daithí Mac Síthigh, Mathias Siems · 148 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Accountability #Actuarial science #Artificial intelligence #Business #Computer science #Credit rating #Data mining #Digital Economy and Work Transformation #Economics #Emerging markets #Enforcement #Environmental economics #Finance #Healthcare innovation and challenges #Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism #Law #Political science #Rating system #Relation (database) #Social system
paper · open access · doi:10.1111/1468-2230.12462
published in Modern Law Review 82(6), 1034-1071 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2019/09/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Abstract Many countries know financial consumer credit ratings, and recent years have also seen a proliferation of rating systems in relation to online platforms and in the ‘sharing economy’, such as eBay, Uber and Airbnb. In the view of many Western observers, however, the emerging Chinese Social Credit System indicates a paradigm shift compared to these former rating systems as it aims for a comprehensive and uniform social rating based on penalty and award mechanisms. By contrast, this article suggests that the evolving forms of the Chinese system should be seen as a specific instance of a wider phenomenon. Thus, it develops a framework that compares different rating systems by reference to their drafters, users, aims, scoring systems, application, use of algorithms, enforcement and accountability; it identifies shortcomings of both low and high interventionist rating systems; and it discusses a range of regulatory approaches and emerging issues that law makers should consider.