Financial Transparency Coalition

This week and next I am traveling to Austria. Following from this trip, I am writing this two-part blog series on Austrian economics, its successes, failures, and application to current dilemmas in economic theory and policy. In the past few years the world—and the United States in particular—has witnessed a resurgence of the term “Austrian economics.” Many of those who use it, including Ron Paul who declared we are “all Austrians now” after his third place finish in Iowa, are referring to a narrow segment of the body of thought. That segement might be better termed “libertarianism.” Other bloggers and...

This week Global Financial Integrity released their periodic estimate of worldwide illicit financial flows authored by Dev Kar and Sarah Freitas. The report finds the developing world exported an estimated US$859 billion in illicit financial flows in 2010. In case you like moving words, here’s a presentation I put together on what that number means. The GFI model of illicit financial flows includes two components: (1) an estimate of money that exits developing countries via trade channels (called trade mispricing) and (2) an estimate of money that leaves developing countries through other, private capital flows. Traditionally GFI has estimated the...

In late November of this year, authorities found the body of Maria, a woman in her early 20s, outside an armored van along a mountainous road in northwestern Mexico. In February, Maria Susana Flores Gámez won the 2012 Woman of Sinaloa beauty pageant. She also became involved with the Sinaloa drug Cartel. Maria died in a shootout between the gang and the police in those mountains with a gun in her hand. She was riddled with bullets because someone had used her body as a human shield. Maria was the fourth known beauty queen to get involved with Mexican drug...

Last week I wrote about a post, inspired by TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year, about who I would pick for a “Transparency Person of the Year.” Keeping with TIME’s definition, this would be someone who influenced the news, for better or worse, on issues related to financial transparency. I got so many great suggestions for additions to the list that I’m following up this week. Without further ado, here’s some (additional) picks: SHELDON ADELSON The billionaire casino mogul has dominated headlines this year. He made TIME Magazine’s nominations for “what critics cast as trying to buy the election,” through...