IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/ecopln/v57y2024i4d10.1007_s10644-024-09732-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tax evasion, education and shadow economy

Author

Listed:
  • Salvatore Ciucci

    (Università degli studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”)

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the influence of education on tax evasion. This study proposes a theoretical model, in which an agent can choose to allocate his labor effort between two production technologies. Higher levels of education lead to more skilled and specialized workers, and the tax authority can observe the use of advanced tools and equipment. The main result is that an increase in the general level of education leads to a labor effort substitution effect, showing that higher education can reduce tax evasion and the size of the shadow economy. Both static and dynamic estimation techniques are employed to test the theoretical findings, using a sample of 133 countries, over the period 2001–2020. The empirical analysis confirms the significant negative association between education and shadow economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Salvatore Ciucci, 2024. "Tax evasion, education and shadow economy," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ecopln:v:57:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s10644-024-09732-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10644-024-09732-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10644-024-09732-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10644-024-09732-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Capasso, Salvatore & Jappelli, Tullio, 2013. "Financial development and the underground economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 167-178.
    2. Lars P. Feld & Friedrich Schneider, 2010. "Survey on the Shadow Economy and Undeclared Earnings in OECD Countries," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 11(2), pages 109-149, May.
    3. Andrew Weiss, 1995. "Human Capital vs. Signalling Explanations of Wages," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 133-154, Fall.
    4. Daron Acemoglu & Philippe Aghion & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2006. "Distance to Frontier, Selection, and Economic Growth," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 4(1), pages 37-74, March.
    5. Brunello, Giorgio & Comi, Simona, 2004. "Education and earnings growth: evidence from 11 European countries," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 75-83, February.
    6. Axel Dreher & Friedrich Schneider, 2010. "Corruption and the shadow economy: an empirical analysis," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 215-238, July.
    7. Hassan, Mai & Schneider, Friedrich, 2016. "Size and Development of the Shadow Economies of 157 Countries Worldwide: Updated and New Measures from 1999 to 2013," IZA Discussion Papers 10281, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Berdiev, Aziz N. & Saunoris, James W., 2016. "Financial development and the shadow economy: A panel VAR analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 197-207.
    9. Bittencourt, Manoel & Gupta, Rangan & Stander, Lardo, 2014. "Tax evasion, financial development and inflation: Theory and empirical evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 194-208.
    10. George Gilligan & Grant Richardson, 2005. "Perceptions of tax fairness and tax compliance in Australia and Hong Kong ‐ a preliminary study," Journal of Financial Crime, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(4), pages 331-343, October.
    11. Joel Slemrod, 2007. "Cheating Ourselves: The Economics of Tax Evasion," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(1), pages 25-48, Winter.
    12. Khalil Nimer & Ali Uyar & Cemil Kuzey & Friedrich Schneider, 2022. "E-government, education quality, internet access in schools, and tax evasion," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 2044587-204, December.
    13. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    14. repec:bla:germec:v:11:y:2010:i::p:109-149 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Catalina Granda-Carvajal, 2010. "The Unofficial Economy and the Business Cycle: A Test for Theories," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 573-586.
    16. Thomas Poufinas & George Galanos & Charalampos Agiropoulos, 2021. "The Impact of Competitiveness on the Shadow Economy," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 27(1), pages 29-46, February.
    17. Rajeev Goel & James Saunoris, 2014. "Global corruption and the shadow economy: spatial aspects," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 119-139, October.
    18. Ali Uyar & Ramzi Benkraiem & Khalil Nimer & Friedrich Schneider, 2024. "Education, Digitalization and Tax Evasion: International Evidence," International Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 41-56, January.
    19. Bashar H. Malkawi & Haitham A. Haloush, 2008. "The case of income tax evasion in Jordan: symptoms and solutions," Journal of Financial Crime, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(3), pages 282-294, July.
    20. Gisele Ferreira-Tiryaki, 2008. "The informal economy and business cycles," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 11, pages 91-117, May.
    21. Benhabib, Jess & Spiegel, Mark M., 1994. "The role of human capital in economic development evidence from aggregate cross-country data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 143-173, October.
    22. Romer, Paul M, 1990. "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 71-102, October.
    23. Pyle, D J, 1991. "The Economics of Taxpayer Compliance," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 163-198.
    24. Maria Berrittella, 2015. "The Effect of Public Education Expenditure on Shadow Economy: A Cross-Country Analysis," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 527-546, December.
    25. Moen, Espen R, 1999. "Education, Ranking, and Competition for Jobs," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(4), pages 694-723, October.
    26. Afonso, Oscar & Neves, Pedro Cunha & Pinto, Tiago, 2020. "The non-observed economy and economic growth: A meta-analysis," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 44(1).
    27. Wallschutzky, I. G., 1984. "Possible causes of tax evasion," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 371-384, December.
    28. Caballe, Jordi & Panades, Judith, 2004. "Inflation, tax evasion, and the distribution of consumption," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 567-595, December.
    29. repec:eme:ijlma0:ijlma-02-2016-0022 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Sandmo, Agnar, 2005. "The Theory of Tax Evasion: A Retrospective View," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 58(4), pages 643-663, December.
    31. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    32. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schneider, Friedrich & Khan, Shabeer & Baharom Abdul Hamid & Khan, Abidullah, 2019. "Does the tax undermine the effect of remittances on shadow economy?," Economics Discussion Papers 2019-67, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    2. Luc Jacolin & Joseph Keneck Massil & Alphonse Noah, 2021. "Informal sector and mobile financial services in emerging and developing countries: Does financial innovation matter?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(9), pages 2703-2737, September.
    3. Roberto Dell'Anno, 2022. "Theories and definitions of the informal economy: A survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1610-1643, December.
    4. KOUAKOU, Dorgyles C.M. & YEO, Kolotioloma I.H., 2023. "Can innovation reduce the size of the informal economy? Econometric evidence from 138 countries," MPRA Paper 119264, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Aziz N. Berdiev & James W. Saunoris, 2023. "The case for independence: Does central bank independence curb the spread of the underground economy?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(3), pages 407-435, August.
    6. Sèna Kimm Gnangnon, 2022. "Financial development and tax revenue in developing countries: investigating the international trade channel," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-26, January.
    7. Jochen Hartwig, 2009. "A panel Granger-causality test of endogenous vs. exogenous growth," KOF Working papers 09-231, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    8. Tran, Nguyen Van & Alauddin, Mohammad & Tran, Quyet Van, 2019. "Labour quality and benefits reaped from global economic integration: An application of dynamic panel SGMM estimators," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 92-106.
    9. Khorana, Sangeeta & Caram, Santiago & Biagetti, Marco, 2021. "Vicious Circle or New Paradigm? Exploring the Impact of Shadow Economy on Labour Market in Latin America and Eurozone," GLO Discussion Paper Series 983, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    10. Rajeev K. Goel & Rati Ram & Friedrich Schneider & Ashley Potempa, 2020. "International movements of money and men: impact on the informal economy," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 44(1), pages 179-197, January.
    11. Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Guillaume Vermeylen, 2015. "Educational Mismatch and Firm Productivity: Do Skills, Technology and Uncertainty Matter?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 233-262, June.
    12. Canh P. Nguyen & Christophe Schinckus & Dinh Su Thanh, 2020. "Economic Fluctuations And The Shadow Economy: A Global Study," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(03), pages 1-24, September.
    13. Petr Janský & Miroslav Palanský, 2016. "Fiscal decentralization and the shadow economy," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-172, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Henri Njangang & Luc Ndeffo Nembot & Joseph Pasky Ngameni, 2020. "Does financial development reduce the size of the informal economy in sub‐Saharan African countries?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(3), pages 375-391, September.
    15. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2019. "Financial Development and Tax Revenue in Developing Countries: Investigating the International Trade and Economic Growth Channels," EconStor Preprints 206628, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    16. Ridwan, Lanre Ibrahim & Ajide, Kazeem Bello & Cifuentes-Faura, Javier & Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh, 2024. "Shadow economy implications of financial development in Africa: Do income groups also matter?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    17. Joseph Keneck-Massil & Alphonse Noah, 2019. "Shadow economy and educational systems in Africa," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(2), pages 1467-1478.
    18. Oanh Tran Thi Kim & Quoc Huynh Van & Nha Lam Tuan & Chau Nguyen Thi Bao & Phat Nguyen Huu, 2024. "The Relationship Between the Shadow Economy, Corruption, and Taxes: Empirical Evidence from Countries with High and Low Financial Development," Studia Universitatis „Vasile Goldis” Arad – Economics Series, Sciendo, vol. 34(4), pages 78-104.
    19. Roth,Felix & Thum, Anna-Elisabeth, 2010. "Does intangible capital affect economic growth?," CEPS Papers 3667, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    20. Maté Fodor & Jean Luc De Meulemeester & Denis Rochat, 2019. "The Wavering Economic Thought About The Link Between Education And Growth," Working Papers CEB 19-006, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Tax evasion; Shadow economy; Labor technology;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:ecopln:v:57:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s10644-024-09732-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.