The Increase of the size of the shadow economy of 18 OECD countries: Some preliminary explanations

The latest empirical results of the size of the shadow economy in 18 OECD countries are presented, using the currency demand approach to calculate the shadow economy over time. The results indicate a strong increase in the size of the shadow economy, over the period 1960 to 1998 and for 15 of the 18 investigated OECD-countries the size of the shadow economy is more than 13 % of the GNP for the year 1998. Also an analysis is given about the size of influences of major causes (direct and indirect tax burden and government regulation) on the shadow economy for Austria.

Privatisation in OECD Countries: Theoretical Reasons and Results Obtained

Öffentliches Unternehmen, Privatisierung, OECD-Staaten, Public enterprise, Privatization, OECD countries

The Financial Flows of the Transnational Crime: Some Preliminary Empirical Results

Until 2008, the growth of the world economy was quite strong and improved the economic well-being all over the globe, but this development was also accompanied by some risks. One of them is transnational crime, which has shown a remarkable increase in the last 20 years3. This raises the following two questions: (1) How is transnational crime financed, and what do we know about this financing? (2) What economic implications does transnational crime have? In this contribution question (2) will be very briefly answered, however the main focus lies on providing a more detailed answer on the financing of transnational crime (question 1). Additionally a detailed analysis of the finances of transnational crime is crucial to reduce their financial options, so that the basis of their operations is at least limited. Such an analysis is another goal of this chapter. My paper is structured as follows: section 2 provides a literature review on the kinds of transnational crime financing. Section 3 shows the infiltration of transnational crime into the economic system. In section 4 some conclusions and policy recommendations are drawn.

The Increase of the Size of the Shadow Economy of 18 OECD Countries: Some Preliminary Explanations

The latest empirical results of the size of the shadow economy in 18 OECD countries are presented, using the currency demand approach to calculate the shadow economy over time. The results indicate a strong increase in the size of the shadow economy, over the period 1960 to 1998 and for 15 of the 18 investigated OECD-countries the size of the shadow economy is more than 13% of the GNP for the year 1998. Also an analysis is given about the size of influences of major causes (direct and indirect tax burden and government regulation) on the shadow economy for Austria.

Shadow Economies around the World: What do we really know?

Using the DYMIMIC approach, estimates of the shadow economy in 110 developing, transition and developed OECD countries are presented. The average size of the shadow economy (in percent of official GDP) over 1999-2000 in developing countries is 41%, in transition countries 38% and in OECD countries 17%. An increasing burden of taxation and social security contributions are the driving forces of the shadow economy. If the shadow economy increases by one percent the growth rate of the “official” GDP of a developing (of a developed and/or transition) country decreases by 0.6% (increases by 0.8 and 1.0% respectively).shadow economy, interaction of the shadow economy with the official one, tax burden, government regulation, DYMIMIC method

Shadow Economies and Corruption all over the World: What do we really Know?

Estimations of the size and development of the shadow economy for 145 countries, including developing, transition and highly developed OECD economies over the period 1999 to 2003 are presented. The average size of the shadow economy (as a percent of “official” GDP) in 2002/03 in 96 developing countries is 38.7%, in 25 transition countries 40.1%, in 21 OECD countries 16.3% and in 3 Communist countries 22.3%. An increased burden of taxation and social security contributions, combined with labor market regulation, are the driving forces of the shadow economy. Furthermore, the results show that the shadow economy reduces corruption in high-income countries, but increases corruption in low income countries. Finally, the various estimation methods are discussed and critically evaluated.shadow economy of 145 countries, tax burden, tax moral, quality of state institutions, regulation, DYMIMIC and other estimation methods

Illegal activities, but still values added ones (?): size, causes, and measurement of the shadow economies all over the world

Using various methods estimates about the size of the shadow economy in 76 developing, transition and OECD countries are presented. The average size of the shadow economy (in percent of GDP) over 1989-93 in developing countries is 39 %, in transition countries 23 % and in OECD countries 12 %. An increasing burden of taxation and social security contributions combined with rising state regulatory activities are the driving forces for the growth and size of the shadow economy. According to some findings, a growing shadow economy has a negative impact on official GDP growth, however, this result is not robust, other studies show the opposite effect.