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The Underground Economy: Minimizing the Size of Government

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Abstract

This paper duscusses the author's work on measuring and modelling the New Zealand underground economy, 1968-1994. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between this activity and taxation policy. An optimal level for the effective tax rate is reported, in terms of maximizing the impact on the underground economy. The implications for the "tax gap" in that country are examined, and some possible implications for Canada are drawn by combining these results with those of other authors for the latter country.

Suggested Citation

  • David E. A. Giles, 1998. "The Underground Economy: Minimizing the Size of Government," Econometrics Working Papers 9808, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
    • Handle: RePEc:vic:vicewp:9808
    Note: ISSN 1485-6441. This paper was presented at the Fraser Institute Conference on "How to Spend the Fiscal Dividend : What is the Optimal Size of Government?", Ottawa, December, 1997.
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zellner, Arnold, 1970. "Estimation of Regression Relationships Containing Unobservable Independent Variables," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 11(3), pages 441-454, October.
    2. David Giles, 1997. "Causality between the measured and underground economies in New Zealand," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 63-67.
    3. repec:bla:ecorec:v:73:y:1997:i:222:p:225-32 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. David Giles, 1997. "The hidden economy and tax-evasion prosecutions in New Zealand," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(5), pages 281-285.
    5. David E. A. Giles, & Patrick J. Caragata, 1998. "The Learning Path of the Hidden Economy:Tax and Growth Effects in New Zealand," Econometrics Working Papers 9805, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
    6. Phillip Cagan, 1958. "The Demand for Currency Relative to the Total Money Supply," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(4), pages 303-303.
    7. Rolf Mirus & Roger S. Smith & Vladimir Karoleff, 1994. "Canada's Underground Economy Revisited: Update and Critique," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 20(3), pages 235-252, September.
    8. Patrick J. Caragata, & David E. A. Giles, 1998. "Simulating the Relationship Between the Hidden Economy and the Tax Level and Tax Mix in New Zealand," Econometrics Working Papers 9804, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
    9. Bruno S. Frey & Werner W. Pommerehne, 1984. "The Hidden Economy: State And Prospects For Measurement1," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 30(1), pages 1-23, March.
    10. David Giles, 1999. "The rise and fall of the New Zealand underground economy: are the responses symmetric?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(3), pages 185-189.
    11. Edgar L. Feige, 1979. "How Big Is the Irregular Economy?," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(5), pages 5-13, November.
    12. Frey, Bruno S. & Weck-Hanneman, Hannelore, 1984. "The hidden economy as an 'unobserved' variable," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(1-2), pages 33-53.
    13. David E. A. Giles, 1998. "The Hidden Economy and the Tax-Gap in New Zealand: A Latent Variable Analysis," Econometrics Working Papers 9807, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
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    Cited by:

    1. Roberto Dell’Anno & Miguel Gómez-Antonio & Angel Alañon-Pardo, 2007. "The shadow economy in three Mediterranean countries: France, Spain and Greece. A MIMIC approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 197-197, July.
    2. Dell’Anno, Roberto & Davidescu, Adriana AnaMaria, 2019. "Estimating shadow economy and tax evasion in Romania. A comparison by different estimation approaches," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 130-149.
    3. Buehn, Andreas & Schneider, Friedrich, 2009. "Corruption and the Shadow Economy: A Structural Equation Model Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 4182, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Soheila Kaghazian & Isa Zaghi Jojadeh & Yazdan Naghdi, 2015. "Underground Economy Estimation in Iran by Mimic Method," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 1, pages 90-109.
    5. Paraskevi Koufopoulou & Colin C. Williams & Athanassios Vozikis & Kyriakos Souliotis & Antonios Samprakos, 2021. "Estimating Shadow Economy Size in Greece 2000 - 2018: A Flexible MIMIC Approach," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 71(3-4), pages 23-47, July-Dece.
    6. Andreas Buehn & Friedrich Schneider, 2012. "Corruption and the shadow economy: like oil and vinegar, like water and fire?," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 19(1), pages 172-194, February.
    7. Bame-Aldred, Charles W. & Cullen, John B. & Martin, Kelly D. & Parboteeah, K. Praveen, 2013. "National culture and firm-level tax evasion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 390-396.
    8. Mahieddine Adnan Ghecham, 2017. "The Impact of Informal Sector on Income Distribution: Could Concentration of Income be Explained by the Size of Informal Sector?," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 7(1), pages 594-600.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hidden Economy; Underground Economy; Tax Avoidance; Tax Evasion; Tax Gap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C12 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Hypothesis Testing: General
    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes

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