Research Symposium Synthesis Report: Evidence and impact of beneficial ownership transparency
Conclusion and future research
The diversity of projects and organisations represented at the Symposium demonstrated that there is a burgeoning interest in research on BOT from across different academic disciplines, governments, civil society, and the private sector. Despite ongoing obstacles to research – notably data access – a substantial volume of high-quality research projects are being undertaken. This includes areas that are critical to moving the policy space forward, but that have not traditionally been a major focus, including uses and impacts of BO data, and the frontier issue of asset transparency. Emerging studies on the links between BOT and media ownership, environmental regulations, real estate ownership trends, and sanctions in football leagues, among others, will likely identify and document new uses and impacts of BO information.
Measuring and accurately confirming (or refuting) links between real-world outcomes and the implementation of BO disclosure regimes is not always easy. The studies presented at the Symposium provide insights into how to approach this challenge and are thereby helping to grow the evidence base regarding the impacts of BOT. Robust research of this type could provide convincing evidence of the impact of data use, and yield new insights about how to configure implementation so that it maximises the impacts that governments seek to achieve.
Going forward, there is ample scope and interest to grow and deepen the research and academic literature on BOT in each of the Symposium’s three thematic areas and beyond.
Meanwhile, there are still plenty of fundamental questions about the best approach to implementing BOT – and the extent to which countries are pursuing best practice – as exemplified in the ongoing documentation and debates about approaches to access. While many lessons can be drawn from the research presented at the Symposium, a note of caution is advised regarding the comparatively narrow evidence base so far. This remains predominantly Eurocentric, likely in large part due to the rapid pace of progress of BOT implementation and the availability of information there.
Moreover, the publication of BO data in countries that put a higher priority on transparency has led to a flurry of research that has sometimes highlighted bad practices in these jurisdictions, while leaving jurisdictions that delay or avoid reforms relatively unexamined. There are projects seeking to fill these gaps, and having research from a broader range of regions, as well as drawing from a wide pool of methodological approaches, would allow for more robust conclusions. Where data availability is low, more exploratory research methods may be needed.
Going forward, there is ample scope and interest to grow and deepen the research and academic literature on BOT in each of the Symposium’s three thematic areas and beyond. Events like this serve as a key connection space and catalyst to move such work forward. Researchers also suggested a range of topics for further exploration, such as: the potential displacement effect of introducing BOT requirements in a given jurisdiction; exploring how BOT should work with complex financial instruments like private equity and investment funds; and examining the intersection of artificial intelligence and BOT, which could look at data gathering, verification, and data use.
Open Ownership and its partners will continue to engage with and expand collaborations with the community of BOT researchers. We will also share insights from their work to inform technical support and implementation guidance to countries, translating evidence-based research into policy and practice. Finally, we will support additional research in priority areas to continue strengthening the evidence base for these essential reforms.