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Extraordinary Wealth, Globalization, and Corruption

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  • Benno Torgler
  • Marco Piatti

Abstract

The billionaires of the world attract significant attention from the media and the public. The popular press is full of books selling formulas on how to become rich. Surprisingly, only a limited number of studies have explored empirically the determinants of extraordinary wealth. Using a large data set we explore whether globalization and corruption affect extreme wealth accumulation. We find evidence that an increase in globalization increases super-richness. In addition, we also find that an increase in corruption leads to an increase in the creation of super fortune. This supports the argument that in kleptocracies large sums are transferred into the hands of a small group of individuals.

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File URL: http://external-apps.qut.edu.au/business/documents/discussionPapers/2009/DiscussionPaperandWorkingPaperSeries247.pdf
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology in its series School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series with number 247.

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Length: 16 pages
Date of creation: 23 Mar 2009
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:qut:dpaper:247

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Postal: GPO Box 2434, BRISBANE QLD 4001
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Web page: http://www.bus.qut.edu.au/faculty/economics/
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Keywords: Globalization; Extraordinary Wealth; Corruption; Superstars;

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  1. Tim Hazledine & John Siegfried, 1997. "How did the wealthiest New Zealanders get so rich?," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 35-47.
  2. Eric Neumayer, 2004. "The super-rich in global perspective: a quantitative analysis of the Forbes list of billionaires," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 11(13), pages 793-796.
  3. Axel Dreher, 2006. "Does globalization affect growth? Evidence from a new index of globalization," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 38(10), pages 1091-1110.
  4. Rosen, Sherwin, 1981. "The Economics of Superstars," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(5), pages 845-58, December.
  5. Wojciech Kopczuk & Emmanuel Saez, 2004. "Top Wealth Shares in the United States: 1916-2000: Evidence from Estate Tax Returns," NBER Working Papers 10399, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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