Publications

@mastersthesis{Vermeij2019,

title = {The offshore state: A first large-scale inquiry into the state’s utilization of offshore constructs},

author = {Koen Vermeij},

url = {https://corpnet.uva.nl/masters-thesis-koen-vermeij-2/},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-07-11},

abstract = {As a consequence of globalization and financialization, it has become common practice for

transnational corporations to develop offshore constructs in order to maximize income and minimize

costs and accountability. Offshore constructs allow companies to transfer financial resources across

borders to the most advantageous places. The common conception is that this puts states in a game

of economic competition. The state’s strategy to deal with this situation is to lower regulatory and

fiscal standards in order to develop an inviting destination for capital. This way they facilitate the use

of offshore constructs. However, piecemeal evidence suggests that states do not only facilitate

offshore constructs, but that they also actively utilize them as owners of capital themselves. This

research uses large-scale quantitative data on ownership relations to develop a global image of state’s

offshore constructs. The findings indicate that states indeed use offshore constructs on a considerable

scale, but that 90% of them belongs to a group of 20 states. It is the first large-scale evidence for the

state’s usage of offshore constructs.},

keywords = {corporate structures, offshore, offshore construct, offshore financial centres, offshore jurisdictions, state capitalism, State ownership, transnational state investment},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {mastersthesis}

}