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Tax havens or safe havens

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  • Pieretti, Patrice
  • Thisse, Jacques-François
  • Zanaj, Skerdilajda

Abstract

Our aim is to explain how a small country can be viable as an international banking center (IBC). We build a model in which mobile investors choose between two banking centers located respectively in a small country and in a large country. These countries compete in two instruments, taxation and institutional infrastructure. It follows that an IBC can be a tax haven, a safe haven, or both. A small country that hosts an IBC is a safe haven when it is able to provide a high level of institutional infrastructure, whereas it chooses to be a tax haven when it cannot be competitive in institutional infrastructure. Even in this last case, an IBC need not be as bad as claimed in the general press because its presence fosters institutional competition across countries, which is ultimately beneficial to all investors.

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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 8570.

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Date of creation: Sep 2011
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8570

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Related research

Keywords: institutional infrastructure competition; international banking centers; portfolio investments; tax competition;

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  1. James R. Hines, 2010. "Treasure Islands," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(4), pages 103-26, Fall.
  2. Jean, HINDRIKS & Susana, PERALTA & Sholmo, WEBER, 2006. "Competing in taxes and investment under fiscal equalization," Discussion Papers (ECON - Département des Sciences Economiques) 2006062, Université catholique de Louvain, Département des Sciences Economiques.
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