The Offshore World: Sovereign Markets, Virtual Places, And Nomad Millionaires
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
The atlas of contemporary capitalism is curious indeed. A desperately poor and civil-war-wracked nation, Liberia, is the world's shipping superpower; the Cayman Islands the fifth-largest financial center in the world; land-locked Zurich a venerable "offshore" banking center. Indeed, it is estimated that half of the global stock of money passes through tax havens. The logic of the offshore world, where millionaires and corporations roam in search of financial advantage, is slippery. It challenges many conventional assumptions about power and economics.
In the single most comprehensive account of the offshore economy, Ronen Palan investigates the legal spaces, unregulated and yet maintained and supported by the state system, that have emerged for purposes of international finance, tax havens, export processing zones, flags of convenience, and e-commerce.
The offshore economy had its beginnings in the late nineteenth century, saw early development after the First World War, and metastasized in the 1970s. Palan believes that a rapidly expanding offshore economy is now producing a new market in sovereignty; states have discovered that their rights to write law may be used as a commercial asset. This commercialization of sovereignty, he asserts, undermines the legitimacy of the nation-state and supports a form of nomadic capitalism.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From the Inside Flap
"Ronen Palan asks bold, provocative questions regarding the relationship between sovereignty and the offshore economy and its relevance to state formation, globalization, and the fate of the nation-state. The ‘commercialization of sovereignty' is a very effective underlying theme."-Peter Andreas, Brown University
"The Offshore World explores the important concept of ‘offshore' with a high level of detail and theoretical sophistication. Ronen Palan illuminates aspects of state sovereignty that have not been fully described elsewhere. This book will extend our understanding of how contemporary international society emerged over the last century, while providing insight into how concepts like ‘offshore' reshape our thinking about economic phenomena."-Peter Dombrowski, The Naval War College
"The Offshore World is a subtle and intriguing look at one of the global economy's most prominent features."-Debora Spar, Harvard Business School
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
The Offshore World: Sovereign Markets, Virtual Places, And Nomad Millionaires
The Offshore World: Sovereign Markets, Virtual Places, And Nomad Millionaires,Ronen Palan,Cornell University Press,0801472954,Business / Economics / Finance,Finance,International - Economics,International - General,International Relations - General,Political Science,Politics/International Relations,Public Policy - Economic Policy
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