Informal Economy - Related Reading

Updated: March 30, 2022

Abdih, Y. and L. Medina (2013). Measuring the informal economy in the Caucasus and Central Asia. International Monetary Fund, WP/13/137 (Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund).

Alm, James and Abel Embaye (2013). Using dynamic panel methods to estimate shadow economies around the world, 1984–2006. Working Papers 1303, Tulane University, Department of Economics.

Breusch, V. (2016). Estimating the underground economy using MIMIC models. Journal of Tax Administration 2, 1.

Buehn, A. and F. Schneider (2012). Shadow economies around the world: novel insights, accepted knowledge, and new estimates. International Tax and Public Finance 19, 1.

Buehn, A., A. Karmann and F. Schneider (2009). Shadow economy and do-it-yourself activities: the German case. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 165, 4.

Dell’Anno R. (2007). The shadow economy in Portugal: an analysis with the MIMIC approach. Journal of Applied Economics 10.

Dell’Anno, R. (2008). What is the relationship between unofficial and official economy? An analysis in Latin American countries. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences 12.

Dell’Anno, R. and F. Schneider (2009). A complex approach to estimate shadow economy: the structural equation modelling. In: M. Faggnini and T. Looks (eds), Coping with the Complexity of Economics (Berlin: Springer).

Dreher, A. and F. Schneider (2009). Corruption and the shadow economy: an empirical analysis. Public Choice 144, 2.

Dreher, A., C. Katsogiannis and S. McCorriston (2009). How do institutions affect corruption and the shadow economy? International Tax and Public Finance 16, 4.

Feige, E. (1979). How big is the irregular economy? Challenge 22, 5.

Feige, E.L. (1996). Overseas holdings of US currency and the underground economy. In: S. Pozo (ed.), Exploring the Underground Economy (Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research).

Feige, E.L. (2016a). Reflections on the meaning and measurement of unobserved economies: what do we really know about the ‘shadow economy’? Journal of Tax Administration 2, 2.

Feld, L.P. and B.S. Frey (2007). Tax compliance as the result of a psychological tax contract: the role of incentives and responsive regulation. Law and Policy 29, 1.

Feld, L.P. and C. Larsen (2009). Undeclared Work in Germany 2001–2007—Impact of Deterrence, Tax Policy, and Social Norms: An Analysis Based on Survey Data (Berlin: Springer).

Feld, L. and F. Schneider (2010). Survey on the shadow economy and undeclared earnings in OECD countries. German Economic Review 11, 2.

Feld, L.P. and F. Schneider (2016). Reply to Gebhard Kirchgaessner. German Economic Review 18, 1.

Fleming, M., J. Roman and G. Farrell (2000). The shadow economy. Journal of International Affairs 53, 2.

Gerxhani, K. (2003). The informal sector in developed and less-developed countries: a literature survey. Public Choice 114, 3–4.

Giles, D.E.A. (1999a). Measuring the hidden economy: implications for econometric modelling. Economic Journal 109, 3.

Gutmann, P.M. (1977). The subterranean economy. Financial Analysts Journal 34, 1.

Gyomai, G. and P. van de Ven (2014). The non-observed economy in the system of national accounts. Statistics Brief No. 18. OECD, Paris, 2014.

Hashimzade, N. and C. Heady (2016). Reflections on the meaning and measurement of unobserved economies: an editorial comment. Journal of Tax Administration 2, 2.

Hassan, M. and F. Scheider (2016). Size and development of the shadow economies of 157 worldwide countries: updated and new measures from 1999 to 2013. Journal of Global Economics 4, 3.

Henderson, V. J., A. Storeygard and D.N. Weil (2012). Measuring economic growth from outer space. American Economic Review 102, 2.

Johnson, S., D. Kaufmann and A. Shleifer (1997). The unofficial economy in transition. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Fall (Washington DC: Brookings Institution).

Johnson, S., D. Kaufmann and P. Zoido-Lobatón (1998a). Regulatory discretion and the unofficial economy. The American Economic Review 88, 2.

Johnson, S., D. Kaufmann and P. Zoido-Lobatón (1998b). Corruption, public finances and the unofficial economy. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series No. 2169 (Washington, DC: The World Bank).

Kaufmann, D. and A.Kaliberda (1996), "Integrating the unofficial economy into the dynamics of post socialist economies: a framework of analysis and evidence" in Kaminski, B. (editor), "Economic Transition in Russia and the New States of Eurasia", London: M.E.Sharpe.

Kemal, M.A. (2007). A fresh assessment of underground economy and tax evasion in Pakistan: causes, consequences and linkages with the formal economy. Pakistan Institute of Development Economics Working Paper 2007: 13 (Islamabad, Pakistan: PIDE).

Kirchgässner, G. (1983). Size and development of the West German shadow economy, 1955–1980. Zeitschrift für die Gesamte Staatswissenschaft 139.

Kirchgässner, G. (2016). On estimating the size of the shadow economy. German Economic Review 18, 1.

Kucera, D. and L. Roncolato (2008). Informal employment: two contested policy issues. International Labor Review 147, 3.

Langfeldt, E. (1984). The unobserved economy in the Federal Republic of Germany. In: E.L. Feige (ed.), The Unobserved Economy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

Loayza, N.V. (1996). The economics of the informal sector: a simple model and some empirical evidence from Latin America. Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, 45.

Lubell, H. (1991). The Informal Sector in the 1980s and 1990s (Paris: OECD Publishing). McGee, R.T. and E.L. Feige (1989). Policy illusion, macroeconomic instability, and the unrecorded economy. In: E.L. Feige (ed.), The Underground Economies: Tax Evasion and Information Distortion (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

Medina, L., A. Jonelis and M. Cangul (2017). The informal economy in sub-Saharan Africa: size and determinants. International Monetary Fund, WP/17/156 (Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund).

Medina, L. and F. Schneider (2018). Shadow economies around the world: what did we learn over the last 20 years? IMF Working Paper WP018, (Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund). Link to paper

Mughal, K.S. and F.G. Schneider (2019). How the informal sector affects the formal economy in Pakistan? A lesson for developing countries. Discussion paper, University of Linz, Austria, revised version (a first one (2018) appeared in Link to paper.

Murthy, S.V.R (2019). Measuring Informal Economy in India. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund. Link to paper

Portes, A. (1996). The informal economy. In: S. Pozo (ed.), Exploring the Underground Economy (Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research).

Sauka, A. and Putniņš, T. J. (2021). Shadow Economy Index for the Baltic Countries. Stockholm School of Economics. RIGA. Link to paper

Schneider, F. (2010). The influence of public institutions on the shadow economy: an empirical investigation for OECD countries. European Journal of Law and Economics 6, 3.

Schneider, F. (ed.) (2011). Handbook on the Shadow Economy (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar).

Schneider, F. (2017). Estimating a shadow economy: results, methods, problems, and open questions. De Gruyter Open, Open Economics 2017/1.

Schneider, F. and D. Enste (2000). Shadow economies: size, causes and consequences. Journal of Economic Literature 38, 1.

Tanzi, V. (1999). Uses and abuses of estimates of the underground economy. Economic Journal 109, 3.

Teobaldelli, D. (2011). Federalism and the shadow economy. Public Choice 146, 3, p. 269-287.

Vuletin, G.J. (2008). Measuring the informal economy in Latin America and the Caribbean. International Monetary Fund Working Paper No. 08/102 (Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund).

Williams, C. C. and F. Schneider (2016). Measuring the Global Shadow Economy: The Prevalence of Informal Work and Labour (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar).