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Inclusive Growth, Institutions, and the Underground Economy

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  • Mr. Adil Mohommad
  • Mr. Anoop Singh
  • Ms. Sonali Jain-Chandra

Abstract

Worldwide protests against the perceived lack of economic opportunity and failure of governance have refocused attention on the need for inclusive growth and strong institutions. In developing countries, large informal economies limit state capacity to deliver governance and strong institutions, which in turn discourages participation in and expansion of the formal economy. This paper analyzes the determinants of the underground economy, with particular emphasis on the role of institutions and the rule of law. We find that when businesses are faced with onerous regulation, inconsistent enforcement and corruption, they have an incentive to hide their activities in the underground economy. Empirical analysis suggests that institutions are a more important determinant of the size of the underground economy than tax rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Mr. Adil Mohommad & Mr. Anoop Singh & Ms. Sonali Jain-Chandra, 2012. "Inclusive Growth, Institutions, and the Underground Economy," IMF Working Papers 2012/047, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2012/047
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Friedrich Schneider & Andreas Buehn & Claudio Montenegro, 2010. "New Estimates for the Shadow Economies all over the World," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 443-461.
    2. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Zoido-Lobaton, Pablo, 1999. "Aggregating governance indicators," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2195, The World Bank.
    3. Friedman, Eric & Johnson, Simon & Kaufmann, Daniel & Zoido-Lobaton, Pablo, 2000. "Dodging the grabbing hand: the determinants of unofficial activity in 69 countries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 459-493, June.
    4. Schneider, Friedrich, 2004. "The Size of the Shadow Economies of 145 Countries all over the World: First Results over the Period 1999 to 2003," IZA Discussion Papers 1431, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    Cited by:

    1. Larissa Batrancea & Anca Nichita & Ioan Batrancea & Lucian Gaban, 2018. "The Strenght of the Relationship Between Shadow Economy and Corruption: Evidence from a Worldwide Country-Sample," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 1119-1143, August.
    2. Ofori, Isaac K. & Asongu, Simplice A., 2022. "Repackaging FDI for Inclusive Growth: Nullifying Effects and Policy Relevant Thresholds of Governance," MPRA Paper 111359, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Angelopulo, George, 2021. "A comparative measure of inclusive urbanisation in the cities of Africa," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 22(C).
    4. Loudi Njoya & Ibrahim Ngouhouo & Simplice A. Asongu & Friedrich Schneider, 2022. "The role of economic prosperity on informality in Africa: evidence of corruption thresholds from PSTR," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 22/012, African Governance and Development Institute..
    5. Soldatos, Gerasimos, 2014. "Indirect Tax Incidence under Inelastic Underground Economy Demand," MPRA Paper 64598, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Mr. Babacar Sarr & Mokhtar Benlamine & Zsuzsa Munkacsi, 2019. "The Macroeconomic Effects of Labor and Product Market Reforms in Morocco," IMF Working Papers 2019/222, International Monetary Fund.
    7. Aribah Aslam & Amjad Naveed & Ghulam Shabbir, 2021. "Is it an institution, digital or social inclusion that matters for inclusive growth? A panel data analysis," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 333-355, February.
    8. Richter, Kaspar & Witkowski, Bartosz, 2014. "Does growth generate jobs in Eastern Europe and Central Asia ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6759, The World Bank.
    9. Laurence Ball & Davide Furceri & Daniel Leigh & Prakash Loungani, 2019. "Does One Law Fit All? Cross-Country Evidence on Okun’s Law," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 30(5), pages 841-874, November.
    10. Quintano, Claudio & Mazzocchi, Paolo, 2013. "The shadow economy beyond European public governance," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 650-670.
    11. Aristidis Bitzenis & Vasileios Vlachos & Friedrich Schneider, 2016. "An Exploration of the Greek Shadow Economy: Can Its Transfer into the Official Economy Provide Economic Relief Amid the Crisis?," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(1), pages 165-196, January.
    12. Daniel Němec & Zuzana Machová & Igor Kotlán & Eva Kotlánová & Christiana Kliková, 2022. "Corruption in Public Administration as a Brake on Transition to Industry 4.0," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    13. Corneliu Sorin BAICU & Cristian Valentin HAPENCIUC, 2016. "Model Of Choices, Institutions And Direct Democracy Quasi-Economic Factors Of The Influence Of Underground Economy," EcoForum, "Stefan cel Mare" University of Suceava, Romania, Faculty of Economics and Public Administration - Economy, Business Administration and Tourism Department., vol. 5(2), pages 1-30, July.
    14. Cong Minh Huynh & Vu Hong Thai Nguyen & Hoang Bao Nguyen & Phuc Canh Nguyen, 2020. "One-way effect or multiple-way causality: foreign direct investment, institutional quality and shadow economy?," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 219-239, February.
    15. Gheorghe ZAMAN & Zizi GOSCHIN, 2016. "A New Multidimensional Ranking of Shadow Economy for EU Countries," Romanian Journal of Economics, Institute of National Economy, vol. 43(2(52)), pages 14-33, december.
    16. Manamba EPAPHRA & Moga Tano JILENGA, 2017. "Currency Demand, the Subterranean Economy and Tax Evasion: The Case of Tanzania," Journal of Economic and Social Thought, KSP Journals, vol. 4(2), pages 187-211, June.
    17. Gheorghița Dincă & Marius Sorin Dincă & Camelia Negri & Mihaela Bărbuță, 2021. "The Impact of Corruption and Rent-Seeking Behavior upon Economic Wealth in the European Union from a Public Choice Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-23, June.
    18. Salahodjaev, Raufhon, 2015. "Intelligence and Shadow Economy: a Cross-Country Empirical Assessment," MPRA Paper 61976, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Dasgupta, Manjira, 2017. "Moving towards "Cashlessness" in an emerging economy: A case study of latest policy steps in India," International Cash Conference 2017 – War on Cash: Is there a Future for Cash? 162907, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    20. Misbah Kiani & Adeel Ahmed & Khalid Zaman, 2015. "Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches for measuring underground economy of Pakistan," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 295-317, January.

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