Headline: The odd lure of the Tobin tax Source: Euromoney Date: October 2001 Author: Stefan Stern Globalization
Such a tax cannot work in practice, critics argue. Indeed, as a distorting intervention in the marketplace it would actually damage the functioning of foreign exchange markets, and make any perceived problems – of speculation and volatility – worse. Tobin’s tax would provoke unintended and harmful consequences. It should be put back in the old filing cabinet from which it has recently been withdrawn. For all that, with calls for greater regulation of flows of funds that are part of the response to the terrorist attacks on the US, the Tobin tax is being seen in some circles as an effective part of the arsenal of control. |