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Concept of Offshore Financial Centers: In Search of an Operational Definition

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  • Ahmed Zoromé

Abstract

This paper proposes a new definition of Offshore Financial Centers (OFCs) and develops a statistical method to differentiate between OFCs and non-OFCs using data from the Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS), the International Investment Position (IIP), and the balance of payments. The suggested methodology identifies more than 80 percent of the OFCs in the study sample that also appear in the a priori list used by the IMF to conduct its OFC assessment program. The methodology distinguishes OFCs based strictly on their macroeconomic features and avoids subjective presumptions on their activities or regulatory frameworks. The study also identifies three new countries meeting OFC criteria.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmed Zoromé, 2007. "Concept of Offshore Financial Centers: In Search of an Operational Definition," IMF Working Papers 2007/087, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2007/087
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ms. Esther C Suss & Mr. Oral Williams & Mr. Chandima Mendis, 2002. "Caribbean offshore Financial Centers: Past, Present, and Possibilities for the Future," IMF Working Papers 2002/088, International Monetary Fund.
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    5. Mr. Luca Errico & Mr. Alberto Musalem Borrero, 1999. "Offshore Banking: An Analysis of Micro- and Macro-Prudential Issues," IMF Working Papers 1999/005, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Ballance, Robert H & Forstner, Helmut & Murray, Tracy, 1987. "Consistency Tests of Alternative Measures of Comparative Advantage," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(1), pages 157-161, February.
    7. Mark Hampton, 1996. "The Offshore Interface," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-25131-5.
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    3. Cetorelli, Nicola & Goldberg, Linda S., 2012. "Liquidity management of U.S. global banks: Internal capital markets in the great recession," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 299-311.
    4. Léon, Florian, 2019. "Long-term finance and entrepreneurship," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 1-1.
    5. Javier Garcia-Bernardo & Jan Fichtner & Eelke M. Heemskerk & Frank W. Takes, 2017. "Uncovering Offshore Financial Centers: Conduits and Sinks in the Global Corporate Ownership Network," Papers 1703.03016, arXiv.org, revised May 2017.
    6. Marchiori, Luca & Pierrard, Olivier, 2018. "Unlocking the gates of paradise: General equilibrium effects of information exchange," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 152-172.
    7. Mina Baliamoune-Lutz & Sharon C. Cobb, 2016. "Evolutionary Economic Geography for OFCs: Do Political Ties to the Onshore Reduce Capital Inflow Volatility?," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 535-555, December.
    8. Satoshi Mizobata, 2014. "Emerging Multinationals in Russia," KIER Working Papers 899, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.
    9. Giulia Aliprandi & Thijs Busschots & Carlos Oliveira, 2023. "Mapping the global geography of shell companies," Post-Print hal-04563980, HAL.
    10. Daniel Haberly & Dariusz Wójcik, 2015. "Regional Blocks and Imperial Legacies: Mapping the Global Offshore FDI Network," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 91(3), pages 251-280, July.
    11. Foad, Hisham & Lundberg, Clark, 2017. "The determinants of portfolio investment in offshore financial centers," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 76-86.
    12. Butkiewicz, James L. & Gordon, Leo-Rey C., 2013. "The Economic Growth Effect of Offshore Banking in Host Territories: Evidence from the Caribbean," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 165-179.
    13. Sasidaran Gopalan & Ramkishen S. Rajan, 2016. "Revisiting Bilateral Foreign Direct Investment Inflows into BRIC Economies," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 7(4), pages 510-520, November.
    14. Alexandra Peter, 2012. "Bilateral Trade, Openness, and Asset Holdings," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 713-740, September.
    15. Masanaga Kumakura, 2007. "What's So Special about China's Exports? A Comment," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 15(5), pages 18-37, September.
    16. Ms. Concha Verdugo Yepes, 2011. "Compliance with the AM+L4776L/CFT International Standard: Lessons from a Cross-Country Analysis," IMF Working Papers 2011/177, International Monetary Fund.

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