Structural studies of the global networks exposed in the Panama papers
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Re: Structural studies of the global networks exposed in the Panama papers
#2Accounting has a rich history going back approximately 7,000 years [0]. This decade will get an entry in that history as "and in the early 21th century, it became a matter of public record how rich people actually managed their money".
It might be easy to underestimate how tectonic papers like this are.
Re: Structural studies of the global networks exposed in the Panama papers
#3[deleted]
Re: Structural studies of the global networks exposed in the Panama papers
#4Everything I've heard about the panama papers suggests that it's a massive scandal that exposes how the rich and powerful are systematically fucking over society. The sad truth is that even though it's been exposed, the scheme is too complex for most people to grasp. Hell they even made a movie about it and no one paid much attention.
Re: Structural studies of the global networks exposed in the Panama papers
#5Everything I've heard about the panama papers suggests that it's a massive scandal that exposes how the rich and powerful are systematically fucking over society. The sad truth is that even though it's been exposed, the scheme is too complex for most people to grasp. Hell they even made a movie about it and no one paid much attention.
>The sad truth is that even though it's been exposed, the scheme is too complex for most people to grasp.
As the paper's abstract says: "In recent history, the Panama Papers have comprised one of the largest and most influential leaks detailing information on offshore entities, company officers and financial (and legal) intermediaries, and has led to a global exposé of corruption and tax evasion. A systematic analysis of this information can provide valuable insights into the structure and properties of these entities and the relations between them. Network science can be applied as a scientific framework for understanding the structure of such relational, heterogeneous datasets at scale. In this article, we use an existing, relational version of the Panama Papers to selectively construct various networks, and then study the properties of the underlying system using well-defined analytical methods from network science, including degree properties, country assortativity analyses, connectivity and single-point network metrics like transitivity and density."
This is an attempt to make some sense out of this using the tools of Network Science[0].
Re: Structural studies of the global networks exposed in the Panama papers
#6Everything I've heard about the panama papers suggests that it's a massive scandal that exposes how the rich and powerful are systematically fucking over society. The sad truth is that even though it's been exposed, the scheme is too complex for most people to grasp. Hell they even made a movie about it and no one paid much attention.
Because when you try to explain to HN that things are rigged and that "competitors" at higher levels know each other personally because even their kids attend the same schools gets you flagged, downvoted and warned, there is really no point in doing so anymore.
Not important at this point. Let the idiots graze the pasture.
Re: Structural studies of the global networks exposed in the Panama papers
#7> In recent history, the Panama Papers have comprised one of the largest and most influential leaks detailing information on offshore entities, company officers and financial (and legal) intermediaries, and has led to a global exposé of corruption and tax evasion. A systematic analysis of this information can provide valuable insights into the structure and properties of these entities and the relations between them.
OK, I get that. What are the insights?
In the Summary it says:
> We iterate that, while we certainly did not expect small-world phenomena to emerge in all networks, the fact that it did not emerge in even a single network, and also that the distribution of connected components (as a function of size measured in terms of number of nodes) seems to follow a clear and consistent trend throughout, suggest a similar fundamental difference compared to small-world networks.
Um, what does that tell us about corruption and tax evasion? Can somebody please explain in layman's terms?
Re: Structural studies of the global networks exposed in the Panama papers
#8Accounting has a rich history going back approximately 7,000 years [0]. This decade will get an entry in that history as "and in the early 21th century, it became a matter of public record how rich people actually managed their money". It might be easy to underestimate how tectonic papers like this are. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_accounting
I haven't been following the fallout of the Panama Papers leak, but has anything concrete (and positive for us vanilla tax payers) actually come out of it? Or did the ultra wealthy simply move their tax evasion schemes to a different set of countries?
Re: Structural studies of the global networks exposed in the Panama papers
#9> In recent history, the Panama Papers have comprised one of the largest and most influential leaks detailing information on offshore entities, company officers and financial (and legal) intermediaries, and has led to a global exposé of corruption and tax evasion. A systematic analysis of this information can provide valuable insights into the structure and properties of these entities and the relations between them.…
It means the corruption is spread far and wide, without a central group of 'authority'.
Re: Structural studies of the global networks exposed in the Panama papers
#10There will always be offshore entities with strong rule of law (Cayman) because multinational companies need a neutral ground to settle disputes with competent judges without the whims of each company’s home base screwing it up.
That’s the most generous and ethical explanation for the continued support and existence of offshore judication. The unpopular reason is that offshore countries offer lower taxes and favorable regulation. As someone who believes in the smallest possible state and enjoys the benefits of offshore countries (as do Facebook, Google, and Apple which use a combination of the Netherlands, Ireland, Bermuda, and Cayman in complex corporate structures) I am sympathetic to this argument. Although my friends say I am a corporate stooge!