5/5 ➡️The study provides rare evidence of cross-border laundering leakage: shutting one channel can open another. To truly curb illicit financial flows, AML policies must be globally aligned, or risk displacing rather than reducing criminal activity.

4/5💡Policy Implications: Cracking down on offshore secrecy doesn’t eliminate laundering; it shifts it onshore. Effective AML enforcement must coordinate across borders and sectors, linking offshore supervision with domestic oversight of company formation, cash-heavy firms and real estate.

3/5 🔍 Key findings: Offshore links in exposed counties fell; Local business creation rose, especially in cash-heavy sectors and real estate; ~47,000 extra firms (≈$14B) emerged; Many looked like fronts—few workers, high revenue; Cash property buys climbed, signaling laundering via real assets.

2/5 In 2009, major Caribbean financial havens tightened AML rules. U.S. counties with stronger ties to these jurisdictions suddenly faced reduced access to offshore laundering routes. This natural experiment reveals how illicit financial flows adapt when a key channel closes.

4/ 🧩 Big picture: religion is a major driver of gender norms. The authors conclude by highlighting potential for further research to unpack when and how these effects arise. 🔗: www.rfberlin.com/network-pape...

3/ 🔍 Key distinction: effects differ between individual religiosity (how devout someone is) and religious affiliation. Not all denominations or contexts look the same.

2/ 📚 Religion shapes differences across genders. The authors review evidence of religion shaping education, labor-force participation, fertility, and broader family behavior, contributing to the establishment of gender norms.

1/ ❓ Why are women more religious than men?
They document this global pattern and review psychological, social, and cultural explanations behind it.