The Uneven Offshore World

Informed by world-systems analysis, this book examines the shifting  patterns of accommodation and resistance to the offshore world, with a particular focus on Mauritius as a critical but underappreciated offshore node mediating foreign investment into India and Africa. Drawing on a large pool of financial data and elite interviews, the authors present the  first detailed  comparative study of  the Mauritius–India and Mauritius–Africa offshore relationships. These relationships serve  as  indicative test cases of  the contemporary  global  tax  reform agenda and its promise  to rein  in offshore finance. Whereas India’s  economic  power and multilateral  track  record  have enabled it to actively  shape  this  agenda  and implement it in a robust manner, most African countries have found themselves either unable to meet its stringent criteria or unwilling to do so out of fear that it might discourage investment. Its impact on offshore financial centers has likewise been limited. A few of the least sophisticated ones appear to have fallen by the wayside, but the rest have either remained largely unaffected, or, like Mauritius, succeeded in consolidating their operations and surviving the current round of regulatory headwinds. The  findings  suggest  that  the contemporary global tax reform agenda has thus far not only failed to make good on its promise but also actually  reinforced  numerous existing  power  hierarchies. The  Uneven  Offshore World is written in an accessible style and aimed at readers without specialized knowledge of tax issues.