Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/249497 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2021/191
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
We show that legal opacity is a strong factor in drug trafficking. We develop a new framework that illustrates how legal opacity influences countries' seizure rates. Legal opacity reduces the detection of illicit flows and increases their volumes because it lowers trafficking costs. We use detailed information from financial systems evaluations, international standards cooperation mechanisms, and economic indicators to construct a new worldwide legal opacity index that covers each of the last two decades. Our empirical results reveal the importance of legal opacity and the enforcement of narcotics laws for drug seizure rates.
Subjects: 
opacity
drug trafficking
illicit flows
seizures
narcotics laws
narcotics
JEL: 
K42
O17
F50
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9267-131-0
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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