Epstein (economics, U. of Massachusetts) and colleagues look at connections between financial liberalization, financial crises, and capital flight in the 1980s and 1990s during the rise of neoliberalism. Opening chapters set the context with an overview of the impacts of capital account liberalization on income distribution and growth and an descri

A comprehensive thematic analysis of capital flight from Africa, it covers the role of safe havens, offshore financial centres, and banking secrecy in facilitating illicit financial flows and provides rich insights to policy makers interested in designing strategies to address the problems of capital flight and illicit financial flows.

In this book, the author defines, measures, and explains the phenomenon of capital flight from developing countries. She attempts to incorporate the causes of capital flight in the measurement procedure.

On the Trail of Capital Flight from Africa investigates the dynamics of capital flight from Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, and South Africa, countries that have witnessed large-scale illicit financial outflows in recent decades. Quantitative, qualitative, and institutional analysis for each country is used to examine the modus operandi of capital flight; that is, the 'who', 'how', and 'where' dimensions of the phenomenon. 'Who' refers to major domestic and foreign players; 'how' refers to mechanisms of capital acquisition, transfer, and concealment; and 'where' refers to the destinations of capital flight and the transactions involved. The evidence reveals a complex network of actors and enablers involved in orchestrating and facilitating capital flight and the accumulation of private wealth in offshore secrecy jurisdictions. This underscores the reality that capital flight is a global phenomenon, and that measures to curtail it are a shared responsibility for Africa and the global community. Addressing the problem of capital flight and related issues such as trade misinvoicing, money laundering, tax evasion, and theft of public assets by political and economic elites will require national and global efforts with a high level of coordination.

This book looks into the relationship between financial development, economic growth, and the possibility of a potential capital flight in the transmission process. It also examines the important role that financial institutions, financial markets, and country-level institutional factors play in economic growth and their impact on capital flight in emerging economies. By presenting new theoretical insights and empirical country studies as well as econometric approaches, the authors focus on the relationship between financial development and economic growth with capital flight in the era of financial crisis. Therefore, this book is a must-read for researchers, scholars, and policy-makers, interested in a better understanding of economic growth and financial development of emerging economies alike.