1. Combating illicit financial flows from poor countries. Estimating the possible gains
- Author:
- Jakob Vestergaard and Martin Højland
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- If the UN Millennium Development Goals are to be reached by 2015, development aid needs to be tripled – which is most unlikely. Instead, countries should unite in a concerted multilateral effort to combat illicit financial flows: for every dollar poor countries receive in development assistance, more than eight dollars are illegally transferred back to rich countries, most of it in order avoid local taxation. Effectively combating these illicit financial flows would generate more financial resources for development than foreign aid is likely to ever do – and help build a sustainable tax base in developing countries for the benefit of future development efforts.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Crime, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, Europe, London, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland, and Luxembourg