Concept of Offshore Financial Centers: In Search of an Operational Definition
April 1, 2007
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Summary
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.
Subject: Financial services, International investment position, Nonbank financial institutions, Offshore financial centers, Service exports
Keywords: assessment program, balance of payments, CPIS portfolio assets, OFC status, WP
Pages:
32
Volume:
2007
DOI:
Issue:
087
Series:
Working Paper No. 2007/087
Stock No:
WPIEA2007087
ISBN:
9781451866513
ISSN:
1018-5941
