Handbook on the Shadow Economy

by Friedrich Schneider (Editor)

Overview

The shadow economy (also known as the black or underground economy) covers a vast array of trade, goods and services that are not part of the official economy of a country. This original and comprehensive Handbook presents the latest research on the size and development of the shadow economy, which remains an integral component of the economies of most developing and many developed countries.

The volume explores the driving forces behind the shadow economy and highlights important regional variations. The expert authors address the whole spectrum of issues including tax moral, government institutions, corruption and illicit work. Importantly the book also examines recent progress in how the shadow economy is measured and estimated.

This well-documented and authoritative study will appeal to economists and researchers, as well as academics and students in the fields of economics, political science and social science. It will also be of interest to anyone seeking a comprehensive investigation into the workings of shadow economy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781848443358
Publisher:	Edward Elgar Publishing
Publication date:	10/31/2011
Series:	Elgar Original Reference Series
Pages:	544
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Edited by Friedrich Schneider, Professor of Economics, Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Austria

Table of Contents

Contents:

Introduction
Friedrich Schneider

PART I: SIZE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SHADOW ECONOMIES ALL OVER THE WORLD
1. Shadow Economies All Over the World: New Estimates for 162 Countries from 1999 to 2007
Friedrich Schneider, Andreas Buehn and Claudio E. Montenegro

2. Survey on the Shadow Economy and Undeclared Work in OECD Countries
Lars P. Feld and Friedrich Schneider

3. The Size and Development of the Shadow Economy in India: A First Attempt at a Public Choice Explanation
Kausik Chaudhuri and Friedrich Schneider

4. Size, Development and Perception of the Shadow Economy in Switzerland
Christoph A. Schaltegger

PART II: REGIONAL VARIATION IN THE SIZE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SHADOW ECONOMY
5. Regional Variations in the Nature of the Shadow Economy: Evidence from a Survey of 27 European Union Member States
Colin C. Williams and Jan Windebank

6. Regional Patterns of the Shadow Economy: Modelling Issues and Evidence from the European Union
Helmut Herwartz, Friedrich Schneider and Egle Tafenau

PART III: SHADOW ECONOMY, ILLICIT WORK AND RELATED ACTIVIES
7. The Shadow Economy and Do-it-Yourself Activities: What Do We Know?
Andreas Buehn and Alexander Karmann

8. The Shadow Economy in the Residential Construction Sector
Christopher Bajada

9. Who is Working Illicitly and Why? Insights from Representative Survey Data in Germany
Dominik H. Enste

PART IV: TAX MORALE AND THE SHADOW ECONOMY
10. Tax Morale, Tax Evasion and the Shadow Economy
Gebhard Kirchgässner

11. The Link between the Intrinsic Motivation to Comply and Compliance Behaviour: A Critical Appraisal of Existing Evidence
Martin Halla

12. Deterrence Policy and the Size of the Shadow Economy in Germany: An Institutional and Empirical Analysis
Lars P. Feld, Andreas J. Schmidt and Friedrich Schneider

PART V: CORRUPTION AND THE SHADOW ECONOMY
13. The Impact of Institutions on the Shadow Economy and Corruption: A Latent Variables Approach
Axel Dreher, Christos Kotsogiannis and Steve McCorriston

14. Shadow Economy, Voice and Accountability, and Corruption
Benno Torgler, Friedrich Schneider and Alison Macintyre

Index

Editorial Reviews

‘Over a number of years, Friedrich Schneider and his team of collaborators have made an impressive effort to estimate the size of the shadow economy. This volume presents their work on data for the majority of the world’s countries and also contains attempts to explain the driving forces behind the size and growth of the hidden economy. It will become a central reference for all economists interested in this aspect of the interaction between the public and private sectors.’

Agnar Sandmo

‘. . . the volume is rich in contents and breaks new ground in several aspects. It focuses on a current and relevant topic and contains many details and references to further studies and research issues. It is also well structured and carefully edited. . . It is hoped that this book gets the same attention in the scientific community and beyond - it’s worth it.’

Hannelore Weck-Hannemann

'Over a number of years, Friedrich Schneider and his team of collaborators have made an impressive effort to estimate the size of the shadow economy. This volume presents their work on data for the majority of the world's countries and also contains attempts to explain the driving forces behind the size and growth of the hidden economy. It will become a central reference for all economists interested in this aspect of the interaction between the public and private sectors.' —- Agnar Sandmo, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Norway

From the Publisher