By

Friedrich Schneider

Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Austria.

e-ISBN: 978-625-6861-82-4
DOI:
Publishing Date: December 5, 2025
File Size: 3,169 MB ‎
Length: xv + 87 pages (PDF)
Language: ‎ English
Dimensions: ‎13,5 x 21,5 cm

This Book is completely open access. You can freely read, download and share with everyone.
This book presents the various methods to estimate the size of the shadow economy, their strengths and weaknesses and the estimation results. The purpose of the survey is threefold. Firstly, it demonstrates that no ideal method to estimate the size and development of the shadow economy exists. Because of its flexibility, the MIMIC method used to get macro-estimates of the size of the shadow economy is discussed in greater detail. Secondly, the book focuses on the definition and causal factors of the shadow economy as well as on a comparison of the size of the shadow economy using different estimation methods. Thirdly, estimations of the size of the shadow economy and shadow labor force are presented and discussed.
List of figures
List of tables
Preface
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical considerations
2.1. Defining the shadow economy
2.2. Theorizing about the shadow economy
3. Methods to estimate the size of the shadow economy
3.1. Direct approaches
3.2. Indirect approaches
3.2.1. The discrepancy between national expenditure and income statistics
3.2.2. The discrepancy between the official and actual labor force
3.2.3. The transactions approach
3.2.4. The currrency demand approach
3.2.5. The physical input (electricity consumption) method
3.2.5.1. The Kaufmann-Kaliberda method
3.2.5.1. The Lacko method
3.2.6. The model approcah
3.2.6.1. General remarks
3.2.6.2. A detailed description of the MIMIC model
3.2.6.3. Criticism of the MIMIC model
3.3. Results of the size of the German shadow economy using the various estimation methods
4. The size of the shadow economy all over the World
5. Shadow economy labor force and labor market
5.1. Shadow economy labor market
5.2. Two micro-studies about the shadow economy labor market
5.2.1. The micro-study of Denmark
5.2.2. The micro-study of Germany
5.2.2.1. Informal labor supply
5.2.2.2. Sectors of informal labour supply
5.2.2.3. Directly reported reasons
5.2.2.4. Regressions on informal labour supply and demand
5.2.2.5. Results of informal labour supply
5.2.2.6. Informal labor demand
5.2.2.7. Conclusion
5.3. The size of the shadow labor force World-Wide aspects
5.4. Shadow labor force and unemployment
6. Summary and concluding remarks: Problems and open questions
References

Friedrich Schneider 

(b) Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University of Linz Altenbergerstr. Linz, Austria.

Since 1986 Friedrich Schneider is Professor of Economics at Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Austria, and since 2006 he is Research Professor at the DIW Berlin, Germany. He obtained his PhD in Economics from the University of Konstanz in 1976 and has since held numerous visiting and honorary positions at a number of universities (e.g. at Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia; University of Saarbrücken. Saarbrücken, Germany; Otago University, Dunedin, New Zealand). During 1991 to 1996 he was Dean of Social Science and Economics at Johannes Kepler University of Linz and Vice President for Foreign Affairs of the Johannes Kepler University of Linz from 1996-2007. He was President of the Austrian Economic Association during 1997-1999 and from 2005-2008 he was President of the German Economic Association (Verein für Socialpolitik). From 2013 - 2016 he is Chairman of the Academic Advisory Board at the Zeppelin University, Friedrichshafen, Germany. He has also been consultant to numerous organisations including the Brussels EU Commission, IMF, World Bank.
He has published extensively in leading Economics journals including The American Economic Review, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, The Economic Journal and the Journal of Economic Literature. He has also published numerous book chapters and books including The Shadow Economy (with Dominik H. Enste, Cambridge Uni. Press, 2002), The Encyclopaedia of Public Choice Vol. I and II (with Charles K. Rowley, Kluwer, 2004), Changing Institutions in the European Union (Edward Elgar, 2004), Readings in Public Choice and Constitutional Political Economy (together with Charles K. Rowley, Springer Publishing Company 2008), The Economics of the Hidden Economy (editor of 2 volumes, in: Mark Blaug (ed.) The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing Company 2008), Handbook of the Shadow Economy (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011), and The Shadow Economy (with Colin C. Williams, The Institute of Economic Affairs, 2013).
He was the editor of the Journal of Public Choice from 1991 to 2004 and Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik from 2000 to 2004.
He joined IZA as a Research Fellow in October 1998.

Related EconPedia Items

Upcoming Books