Offshore Financial Centers and Regulatory Competition

Andrew P. Morriss

• Publisher: AEI Press
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9780844743394
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: International Business
• Index: Business

Offshore financial centers (OFCs) have a troubled reputation for enabling tax evasion, money laundering, autocratic looting, and even the financing of terrorism-but they play an essential role in the world economy. Fears of criminal activity have prompted many onshore governments to restrict offshore competition, but over-regulating OFC activity presents a serious risk of destabilizing the global financial system. In Offshore Financial Centers and Regulatory Competition, a group of leading international law and finance experts argues that offshore jurisdictions have become key players in corporate finance and captive insurance markets. OFCs offer legal protections for financial privacy and provide regulatory competition to onshore jurisdictions, forcing national governments to evaluate and reform their own tax and regulatory policies. Offshore centers also help to streamline foreign direct investment and create growth opportunities for countries with weak financial systems by providing access to global capi

Table of contents

• Introduction
• 1 Offshore Finance and Onshore Markets: Racing to the Bottom, or Moving toward Efficient?
• 2 The Legitimacy of the Offshore Financial Sector: A Legal Perspective
• 3 Regulating Tax Competition in Offshore Financial Centers
• 4 The International Monetary Fund and the Regulation of Offshore Centers
• 5 The Role of Offshore Financial Centers in Regulatory Competition
• Notes
• About the Authors