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.
List of Figures List of Tables List of Boxes List of Abbreviations 1 Introduction Larger debates and research questions Argument and significance Case selection Structure of the book 2 Analytical framework part one: World-systems analysis, global finance, and regional specialization in the global offshore economy World-systems analysis The rise of global finance Regional hubs in a global world 3 Analytical framework part two: Growing resistance, new global standards, and the uneven nature of the offshore world Accommodation and resistance at multiple levels New global standards and the continuing role of national factors The multiple hierarchies of the offshore world and consolidated survivor OFCs 4 A case study of the Mauritius–India offshore relationship The origins of Mauritius as an OFC for India The Vodafone case The historical importance of economic factors The historical importance of political factors Explaining the reversal of the India–Mauritius policy 5 A case study of the Mauritius–Africa offshore relationship Key historical points The role of international factors The role of domestic factors The politics of contestation Re-evaluating India’s offshore change 6 The significance of the case studies for the political economies of India, Africa, and Mauritius The significance of Indian developments The significance of African developments The significance of Mauritian developments The potential of the African market The potential of new financial industries The potential of new entry points into the Indian market Mauritius’s comparative advantages Arrested development and OFCs 7 Conclusion Developments that would put into question the findings of the book Future research questions References Index
Justin Robertson is an associate professor in the Department of Asian and International Studies at the City University of Hong Kong. His most recent research explores the extent to which hedge funds, private equity funds, and offshore structures are materializing in emerging markets. Michael Tyrala is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Emerging Market Studies of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research focuses on the historical and contemporary trajectories of the global offshore economy and its evolving impact on the global capitalist system.
