Understanding Economic and Financial Crime

The unprecedented growth in financial crime has attracted a lot of interest from academics and policy makers alike. This has motivated considerable theoretical and empirical research on different issues relating to financial crime such as level, causes, types and impact of financial crime. A lot of attention has also been devoted to the regulatory and institutional framework to mitigate financial crime. Given the growth of financial crime in Mauritius, especially with the recent scandals, this study provides for an analysis of the determinants of financial crime and its implications on the economy. Using the growing literature, some hypotheses are postulated relating to different issues. A survey is undertaken to gauge the perceptions of professionals on financial crime in Mauritius. Moreover, we specify and estimate a model of determinants of financial crime using the panel data of a large set of countries. This research can be useful to policy makers for an in-depth understanding of some issues relating to financial crime as well as designing policies and building institutions to combat this phenomenon.