Book Launch: On the Trail of Capital Flight from Africa: The Takers and the Enablers


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Capital flight from Africa since 1970 amounts to $2 trillion. These outflows exceed annual inflows of development assistance and foreign direct investment received by African countries. Including interest income that would have been earned on these outflows, cumulative private wealth held offshore stood at $2.4 trillion by 2018. This represents more than three times the stock of debt owed by the continent in that year, ironically making Africa a ‘net creditor’ to the rest of the world.


A new book edited by PERI economists Léonce Ndikumana and James K. Boyce looks at the complex issues around capital flight from Africa. On the Trail of Capital Flight from Africa: The Takers and the Enablers investigates the dynamics of capital flight from Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, and South Africa, countries that have witnessed large-scale illicit financial outflows in recent decades.


The evidence reveals a complex network of actors and enablers involved in orchestrating and facilitating capital flight and the accumulation of private wealth in offshore secrecy jurisdictions. The book highlights that capital flight is a global phenomenon, and that measures to curtail it are a shared responsibility for Africa and the global community. Addressing the problem of capital flight and related issues such as trade mis-invoicing, money laundering, tax evasion, and theft of public assets by political and economic elites will require national and global efforts with a high level of coordination.

Event Information

Event Start Date & Time March 25, 2022 3:00 pm
Event End Date & Time March 25, 2022 4:30 pm
Location Gordon Hall
Conference Room (3rd Floor)

Agenda

3:00 PM

Introduction

Robert PollinDistinguished Professor of Economics and Co-Director, PERI, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Book Presentation

Léonce Ndikumana, Distinguished Professor & Director, African Development Policy Program, PERI, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Melvin AyoguProfessor, Department of Economics, Emory University

James K. Boyce, Professor Emeritus of Economics and Senior Fellow, PERI, University of Massachusetts Amherst

 

Discussion

Jayati GhoshProfessor, Department of Economics and EconomistPERI, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Patrick BondProfessor, Department of Sociology, University of Johannesburg 

Question & Answer Session

Speakers

Robert Pollin

Distinguished Professor of Economics, Co-Director of PERI (Chair and moderator)

Léonce Ndikumana

Distinguished Professor & Director, African Development Policy Program, PERI, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Melvin Ayogu

Professor, Department of Economics, Emory University

James K. Boyce

Professor Emeritus of Economics and Senior Fellow, PERI, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Jayati Ghosh

Professor, Department of Economics and Economist, PERI, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Patrick Bond

Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Johannesburg