Detecting money laundering using filtering techniques: a multiple‐criteria index

Money laundering is a dynamic activity attempting to circumvent anti‐money laundering (AML) actions. We propose a money‐laundering detection approach encompassing three separate detection measures applied simultaneously, providing a consolidated index to minimize circumvention. The index incorporates three detection measures: (1) deviations in trading volume and frequency; (2) unusual payments to or receipts from an atypical trade partner; and (3) Benford’s Law, based on the number of times a specific digit occurs in a particular position in numbers to detect financial fraud. Finally, we design a numerical test that any reasonable detection approach should satisfy. Our results successfully discover possible fraud planted in the simulated data.     

Can country trade flows benefit from improved corporate social responsibility ratings?

We set out in this study to examine the effects of country ‘corporate social responsibility’ (CSR) ratings on the international trade flows of 28 countries. Drawing on categorization theory, we examine whether country CSR engagement is a categorizing factor capable of influencing the overall process of categorization. Based upon a two-stage approach, comprising of gravity and panel Tobit models, we find that a country's CSR rating has significantly positive effects on the country's international trade flows. When the CSR rating of a country is higher than that of another rival trading country, this will have significantly positive effects on the bilateral trade flows between the two countries.     

The Global Disconnect: The Role of Transactional Distance and Scale Economies in Gravity Equations

Recent empirical analyses show that asset flows can be modelled by the same 'gravity' equations that trade economists have used so successfully for the past few decades. This is something of a surprise. Trade economists do not yet have a unified theory of why gravity models should work‐and the situation is worse for asset flows. Reasonable theories would predict that greater distance between countries should generate more asset flows rather than less as the econometric results seem to consistently show. In this paper we discuss how host and source country GDPs, language, and distance the core explanatory variables in the traditional gravity models‐fare in trade and asset flows estimations. While the 'distance puzzle' is not resolved, it is considerably reduced by going beyond consideration of physical distance to concepts of transactional distance and scale economies.     

电子货币洗钱行为的经济学解释

具有匿名性、即时性和跨国界性等特征的电子货币将有利于洗钱,并给反洗钱造成潜在的威胁,但是迄今为止还未发现利用电子货币进行洗钱的实例.根据洗钱者的成本收益比较分析,作出了一个合理的解释,并用博弈论对电子货币反洗钱策略进行了研究.     

Estimating the effects of non‐discriminatory trade policies within structural gravity models

We propose a simple method to identify the effects of unilateral and non‐discriminatory trade policies on bilateral trade within a theoretically consistent empirical gravity model. Specifically, we argue that structural gravity estimations should be performed with data that include not only international trade flows but also intra‐national trade flows. The use of intra‐national sales allows identification of the effects of non‐discriminatory trade policies such as most favoured nation tariffs, even in the presence of exporter and importer fixed effects. A byproduct of our approach is that it can be used to recover estimates of the trade elasticity, a key parameter for quantitative trade models. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our techniques in the case of most favoured nation tariffs and “time to export” as representative non‐discriminatory determinants of trade on the importer and on the exporter side, respectively. Our methods can be extended to quantify the impact on trade of any country‐specific characteristics as well as any non‐trade policies.     

自由贸易协定下中国贸易流量的影响因素研究——基于贸易引力模型的实证分析

近年来,随着经济全球化的迅速发展,我国开始实施自由贸易区战略,推进速度与规模令世人瞩目。以2000-2010年期间中国和14个贸易伙伴的贸易数据为样本,采用加入自由贸易协定等变量的扩展的引力模型对各因素对我国贸易流量的影响进行实证分析。结果显示:贸易国(地区)的经济规模、人口数量、文化以及贸易制度安排是影响我国对外贸易的主要因素,其中,自由贸易区的建立在一定程度上确实可以促进我国同贸易国(地区)的贸易流量,而距离对我国贸易流量的阻碍作用仍然十分显著。     

Money Laundering and Its Regulation

The recent wave of terrorist attacks has increased the attention to money laundering activities, and the role played by the regulatory frameworks controlling feeder activities. We investigate empirically the determinants of money laundering and its regulation in close to 100 countries. We use various methodologies to put together a cross‐country dataset on proxies for money laundering and construct specific money laundering regulation indices based on specific laws and their enforcement. Results show that tougher money laundering regulation, particularly those that criminalize feeding activities and improve disclosure, are linked to lower levels of money laundering across countries. The relevance of historical factors in explaining the variation of money laundering regulation across countries sheds light on the theories of institutions and provides room for further action, particularly in the areas of the law that reduce the burden of proof, increase the liability of intermediaries and improve disclosure.     

对我国《反洗钱法》构建的几点建议

洗钱犯罪的日趋猖獗使得世界各个国家和地区纷纷通过立法等各种措施对其加以控制和打击。虽然我国的反洗钱法律体系正在不断的成熟和完善,但缺乏一部独立的《反洗钱法》,这给我国的反洗钱工作带来了极大的不便。因此,应根据我国的实际情况,尽快提出我国《反洗钱法》的构建措施,以此作为完善我国反洗钱立法的选择和切入点。     

Towards Trade Equalisation: A Network Perspective on Trade and Income Convergence Across the Twentieth Century

An enduring dynamic of the twentieth century is the dramatic expansion of global trade with increased partners, goods, frequency and volumes. Most trade explanations such as the Heckscher–Ohlin, new trade theory, gravity models, and Ricardo and Sraffa focus on how bilateral import and export volumes and intermediate input goods are driven by decreased financial and information transaction costs. Extending work on trade flows and economic development, we derive several network measures of degree, betweenness and eigenvector centrality from dyadic trade flows from 1960 to 2009. We then empirically explore the interactive effects of trade connectivity, economic production and stages of development on income convergence and trade equalisation. We empirically find clear patterns towards a new phenomenon, both sigma levels and beta rates trade convergence and equalisation for our entire sample. Visualising sigma and beta convergence for seven major trading nations from 1920 to 2010, we believe offers new insights into economic development theory if only beginning to loosen the knot of trade, growth and globalisation.     

How did wars dampen trade in the MENA region?

The article investigates the impact of wars on trade in the Middle East and North African region. Using an augmented gravity model that controls for the endogeneity problem in our estimation, we introduce a war variable and distinguish between different types of conflicts. The results show that wars have a significantly negative impact on exports, imports and trade. Civil conflicts hinder exports, imports and trade significantly. The disaggregated version of the gravity model shows that non-state conflicts have a detrimental effect on bilateral trade flows in manufacturing, and that none of the conflicts do affect trade in services. We also find that, on average, a conflict is equivalent to a tariff of 5% of the value of trade.     

On the Empirics of Market Integration in ECOWAS

Abstract

This paper uses the gravity model to investigate the market implications of unilateral and preferential economic reforms in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The results show that the traditional explanatory variables of the gravity model are the significant determinants of trade flows in the ECOWAS region, and that belonging to this grouping fosters trade. Hence policy advice should focus on strengthening these factors, which are likely to enhance the possibility of greater intra‐regional trade. This can contribute to drawing foreign direct investment to the region, enhancing policy credibility, and bringing greater economic and political stability.     

The effect of the Kyoto Protocol on international trade flows: evidence from G20 countries

This study examines the effect of the Kyoto Protocol on trade using gravity model with a Quandt–Andrews test for detection of structural break with G20 countries data. The structural break on international trade took place in 2003 that is around 1 year after the adoption of the Marrakesh Accords which includes the detailed implementation rules of the Kyoto Protocol. According to estimation results, this study can support the negative effect of environmental regulations on trade flows.     

The impact of the ACFTA on ASEAN–PRC trade: estimates based on an extended gravity model for component trade

This article uses an extended gravity model to examine the impact of the free trade agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on their trade flows and patterns. New determinants are utilized to capture the growing importance of global production sharing and intraregional trade in parts and components in East Asia. We show that the free trade agreement leads to substantially higher and more pronounced bilateral trade flows between ASEAN and the PRC than what a conventional gravity model predicts and the increase is concentrated in ASEAN countries that have stronger industrial linkages with the PRC.     

Does trade creation by social and business networks hold in services?

Recent literature on the border effect has shown that the intensity of trade in goods is positively correlated with the migration stocks between any pair of countries/regions. The number of references for business networks is more limited, but they are also related with a reduction on information costs. In this article we investigate whether such a relation holds also for Spanish domestic trade flows in consumer services. To this end, we use a gravity model rooted in the Dixit–Stiglitz–Krugman theoretical framework and a unique data set on interregional trade flows for some of the main tourism service sectors, namely, accommodations and restaurants. Our industry-specific analysis finds a large positive effect for restaurants but a more limited effect for accommodations. Forces driving the demand in each sector explain this result and suggest the idea that although social networks can act as a substitute of firms in some sectors at the same time they can enhance trade flows in other sectors. We perform the same kind of analysis with a data set (obtained by a similar method) for domestic trade in goods and discover a different response to social and business networks. Finally, we treat the potential endogeneity by taking the instrumental-variable approach of the Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood estimator and thus obtain consistent results.     

The trade impact of European Union agricultural preferences

We assess the impact on agricultural trade of European Union (EU) trade policies, using a gravity model based on disaggregated trade flows from 161 developing countries (DCs) to 15 EU member countries. We use a sample selection framework to account for potential selection bias of positive trade flows and provide an explicit measure for relative preference margins. From a policy perspective, our results debunk some of the most widespread criticisms of preferential policies: EU preferences matter and have a positive impact on DCs agricultural exports at both the extensive and intensive margins, although with significant differences across sectors.     

Trade frictions and welfare in the gravity model: how much of the iceberg melts?

Abstract.  A key element missing from the structural gravity literature is an examination of the implied general equilibrium. By design the gravity equation is adept at predicting bilateral trade flows. To make inferences beyond trade flows, however, the theoretic models should be consistent with other observables. Structural econometric estimates from Anderson and van Wincoop (2003) allow us to evaluate their proposed general equilibrium along several dimensions. We find that their gravity model predicts too large a difference between consumer and producer prices; excessive variation in the geographic distribution of consumer price indices; and an exceptionally large portion of output devoted to overcoming trade frictions. Under plausible parameterizations of the model at least 50% of output 'melts' in transit. JEL classification: F10     

Which commercial partners are important for the most recently admitted EU countries?

This paper describes the degree of trade integration inside the European Union (EU) after the fifth enlargement in 2004. To achieve this goal, we build a database of information on trade flows between the new EU countries (EU‐10) and 180 commercial partners in six different sectors from 1999 to 2011. Using the standard gravity model and estimating a difference‐in‐differences specification, we analyze how joining the EU affected the intensity and direction of the EU‐10's trade flows. Our results show that though trade exchanges between the EU‐10 and EU‐15 intensified after 2004, the impact of integration was much more significant to the EU‐10 group.     

Distorted Trade Barriers: A Dissection of Trade Costs in a “Distorted Gravity” Model

It is common in the trade literature to use iceberg transport costs to represent both tariffs and shipping costs alike. However, in models with monopolistic competition these are not identical trade restrictions. This difference is driven by how the two costs affect the extensive margin. We illustrate these differences in a gravity model. We show theoretically that trade flows are more elastic with respect to tariffs than transport costs and find a linear relationship between the elasticities with respect to tariffs, iceberg transport costs, and fixed market costs. We empirically validate these results using data on US product‐level imports.     

房地产行业洗钱行为分析及监测

洗钱活动逐渐从金融机构向其他领域蔓延,房地产行业已成为洗钱的高发地。对比房地产行业洗钱的两大主体——腐败的公职人员和以民营企业家为代表的非公职人员的洗钱行为,结果表明:腐败的公职人员注重安全效用,常常通过能在短时间内利用他人名义的房地产交易活动洗钱,具有较强的隐蔽性;非公职人员则注重收益最大化,主要通过将非法资金注入企业经营,虚假报账,具有较强的欺骗性。     

Alternative hypotheses and the volume of trade: the gravity equation and the extent of specialization

Abstract.  We examine why the gravity equation works and the implications for its use. First, we demonstrate that the gravity equation as a statistical relationship can be generated from a model with incomplete specialization and trade costs. Second, we analyse the predominance of zero bilateral trade values as a 'puzzle' broadly inconsistent with the complete specialization models typically used to derive the gravity equation, but consistent with the alternative hypothesis of incomplete specialization. Third, we demonstrate that the explanation for why the gravity equation works has considerable relevance for how the gravity equation is interpreted and used and how we view bilateral trade.