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Wages, Unemployment, and the Underground Economy

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  • Ann-Sofie Kolm
  • Birthe Larsen

Abstract

While examining the macroeconomic effects of increased government control of the informal sector, this paper develops a two-sector general equilibrium model featuring matching frictions and worker-firm wage bargaining. Workers search for jobs in both the formal and the informal sector. We analyse the impact of higher punishment rates and a higher audit rate on labour market performance. We find that a higher punishment rate reduces the size of the informal sector and reduces unemployment. A higher audit rate has an ambiguous impact on unemployment, and may actually increase the size of the underground economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Ann-Sofie Kolm & Birthe Larsen, 2003. "Wages, Unemployment, and the Underground Economy," CESifo Working Paper Series 1086, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1086
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    9. Kolm, Ann-Sofie & Larsen, Birthe, 2001. "Moral, the Informal Sector, and Unemployment," Working Paper Series 2001:9, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    10. Namkee Ahn & Sara La De Rica, 1997. "The underground economy in Spain: an alternative to unemployment?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(6), pages 733-743.
    11. Kolm, Ann-Sofie & Larsen, Birthe, 2001. "Moral Costs, The Informal Sector And Unemployment," Working Papers 01-2001, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics.
    12. Dominik H. Enste & Friedrich Schneider, 2000. "Shadow Economies: Size, Causes, and Consequences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 77-114, March.
    13. Fugazza, Marco & Jacques, Jean-Francois, 2004. "Labor market institutions, taxation and the underground economy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1-2), pages 395-418, January.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Engström, Per & Holmlund, Bertil & Kolm, Ann-Sofie, 2001. "Optimal Taxation in Search Equilibrium with Home Production," Working Paper Series 2001:19, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    2. Strand, Jon, 2005. "Tax distortions, household production, and black-market work," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 851-871, December.
    3. Kolm, Ann-Sofie & Larsen, Birthe, 2003. "Does Tax Evation Affect Unemployment and Educational Choice?," Working Paper Series 2003:22, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    4. Gaetano LISI, 2011. "Optimal taxation and monitoring in an economy with matching frictions and underground activities," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 2, pages 5-11, June.
    5. Ligita Gasparėnienė & Rita Remeikienė & Colin C. Williams, 2022. "Unemployment and the Informal Economy," SpringerBriefs in Economics, Springer, number 978-3-030-96687-4, June.
    6. Gaetano Lisi & Maurizio Pugno, 2010. "Entrepreneurship and the Hidden Economy: An Extended Matching Model," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 587-605.
    7. Ligita Gasparėnienė & Rita Remeikienė & Colin C. Williams, 2022. "Theorizing the Informal Economy," SpringerBriefs in Economics, in: Unemployment and the Informal Economy, chapter 0, pages 7-60, Springer.
    8. Stanisław Cichocki & Joanna Tyrowicz, 2011. "Determinanty zatrudnienia nierejestrowanego w Polsce w okresach wysokiej i niskiej koniunktury," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 3, pages 1-27.
    9. Kolml, Ann-Sofie & Larsen, Birthe, 2010. "The Black Economy and Education," Research Papers in Economics 2010:3, Stockholm University, Department of Economics.
    10. Edoardo Di Porto & Leandro Elia & Cristina Tealdi, 2013. "The "emersion" effect: an ex post and ex ante social program evaluation on labor tax evasion in Italy," Working Papers 2/2013, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, revised Jun 2013.
    11. Tito Boeri & Pietro Garibaldi, "undated". "Shadow Activity and Unemployment in a Depressed Labor Market," Working Papers 177, IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), Bocconi University.
    12. Gaetano Lisi, 2010. "The Strange Case of Dr. “Unemployed” and Mr “Hidden” in Italy," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 30(4), pages 2802-2816.
    13. Lisi, G., 2011. "Entrepreneurship, On-the-job Search and Informal Jobs," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, issue 9, pages 33-46.
    14. Giovanna Vallanti & Giuseppina Gianfreda, 2021. "Informality, regulation and productivity: do small firms escape EPL through shadow employment?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1383-1412, October.
    15. Maxim Bouev, 2005. "State Regulations, Job Search and Wage Bargaining: A Study in the Economics of the Informal Sector," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp764, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    16. Joanna Tyrowicz & Stanisław Cichocki, 2011. "Employed unemployed? On shadow employment in transition," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 38(2), pages 259-281, May.
    17. Gaetano Lisi & Maurizio Pugno, 2015. "A matching model of endogenous growth and underground firms," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 11(4), pages 347-369, December.
    18. Ann‐Sofie Kolm & Søren Bo Nielsen, 2008. "Under‐reporting of Income and Labor Market Performance," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 10(2), pages 195-217, April.
    19. Gaetano Lisi & Maurizio Pugno, 2010. "The Underground Economy in a Matching Model of Endogenous Growth," Working Papers 2010-07, Universita' di Cassino, Dipartimento di Economia e Giurisprudenza.
    20. Edoardo Di Porto & Leandro Elia & Cristina Tealdi, 2017. "Informal work in a flexible labour market," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(1), pages 143-164.
    21. Ann-Sofie Kolm & Birthe Larsen, 2019. "Underground activities and labour market performance," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(1), pages 41-70, February.
    22. Bruno Chiarini & Elisabetta Marzano, 2009. "Interaction between Underground Employment and Unions in Selected Italian Industries," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 60(5), pages 1155-1180.
    23. Lisi, Gaetano, 2010. "Introduzione allo studio dei modelli di "matching" del mercato del lavoro [Introduction to the study of matching models of unemployment]," MPRA Paper 22735, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    24. Lisi, Gaetano, 2011. "Matching Models of Equilibrium Unemployment: An Overview," MPRA Paper 30191, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    25. Joanna Tyrowicz & Stanisław Cichocki, 2010. "Employed Unemployed? On Shadow Employment During Transition," Working Papers 2010-05, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    tax evasion; underground economy; matching; bargaining; unemployment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance

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