Reasons for the existence of the shadow economy. Shadow economy: causes, scope and experience of state opposition in Russia and other countries

The shadow economy is a very diverse phenomenon. Until now, there is no single universal definition of the informal economy. It is not clear what exactly it includes. This uncertainty is characteristic not only for Russia, although scientific research abroad began much earlier. It is worth saying that the term "shadow economy" came to us from abroad. The economy "outside the state" attracted the attention of foreign scientists as early as the 1930s. In the late 1970s, it became the subject of major research, and since the 1980s, the topic of various international conferences.

There are several dozens of definitions for the economic sphere “outside the state” – “shadow”, “hidden”, “informal”, “illegal”, “fictitious”, “underground”, “criminal”, etc.

For the first time, the term "informal" was used by the British anthropologist K. Hart in his studies of employment and unemployment in Ghana in 1971. He described the possibilities of the urban population, a significant part of which was considered unemployed, to use various informal ways to increase their income. To distinguish between formal and informal activities, Hart used such a criterion as “the degree of rationalization of work, i.e. employees are hired on a permanent and regular basis for a fixed remuneration or not. The conclusion of the study was that the unemployed who fell into the field of view of the author, in fact, were not unemployed at all. On the contrary, they worked actively, sometimes even in several jobs, and their income, being less regular and reliable than that of the permanently and officially employed, was above and below the wage rate of unskilled workers.

Hart's research gave impetus to the study of informal activities, its social and economic role. It became clear that informal economic activity is a universal phenomenon that can be found in countries of very different levels of development, including developed capitalist countries and countries with planned economies. At the same time, there are features in the components of economies various types, which are determined by the level economic development, the nature of the institutional environment, the role of the state in regulating the economy.

Although the specific content of the informal economy, assessments of the role, opportunities for use and eradication are very different, but all its concepts have a common core, consisting in highlighting a certain specific relationship to the state and law.

Thus, the specific content of the informal economy can be determined either within the framework of the accumulative, total method, or on the basis of the exclusion method. The essence of the summary method is to outline as fully as possible the range of those types of economic activity that should be considered as informal. At the UN, national accountants consider the shadow economy in three, somewhat overlapping areas of activity, but describing a very specific, distinct range of phenomena:

“Hidden” (“shadow”) activities are legally permitted activities that are not officially shown or are downplayed in official reporting in order to evade taxes, pay social contributions, or perform certain administrative duties. This activity is possible in almost all sectors of the economy.

"Informal" ("informal") activities - activities on legal basis, but is aimed at the production of goods and services to meet the own needs of households (for example, the implementation of individual construction on their own).

"Illegal" activity is associated with the implementation of a real labor process in an "illegal" enterprise, the products and services of which are in effective market demand.

The exclusion method is based on the fact that from the total amount of economic activity carried out in a particular economic space (as a rule, within a separate country and national economy), the sphere of formal economic activity is excluded, and the resulting balance is considered informal.

The concept of "shadow economy" covers three relatively independent concepts, denoting three relevant sectors:

The "informal economy" includes legal activities related to the production of goods and services not recorded by official statistics. Such activities have become widespread in the service sector (renovation of apartments, tutoring, etc.). Moreover, the recipients of income hide them from taxation.

"Fictitious economy" is associated with the receipt of unreasonable benefits and benefits by business entities based on relationships. These include: the economy of postscripts, bribery and speculative transactions, as well as fraudulent ways to get money.

"Underground economy" - all types of economic activity prohibited by law. These include: illegal production and marketing of products and services; production of weapons, drugs, smuggling, maintenance of brothels; activities of persons who do not have the legal right to engage in this type of activity (lawyers, doctors practicing without a license).

Usually there are three groups of factors that contribute to the development of the shadow economy.

1. Economic factors:

— high taxes (on income, income tax, etc.);

Restructuring of the spheres of economic activity (industrial and agricultural production, services, trade);

— the crisis of the financial system and the impact of its negative consequences on the economy as a whole;

— imperfection of the privatization process;

— activities of unregistered economic structures.

2. Social factors:

- low standard of living of the population, which contributes to the development of hidden types of economic activity;

- high unemployment and the orientation of part of the population to earn income in any way;

- uneven distribution of gross domestic product.

3. Legal factors:

- imperfection of the legislation;

- insufficient activity of law enforcement structures to suppress illegal and criminal economic activities;

- the imperfection of the mechanism of coordination in the fight against economic crime.

The shadow economy generates a number of consequences that negatively affect the economy of the state as a whole. Here are just a few of those implications:

The tax base is shrinking. As a result, the tax pressure on the legal sector of the economy is growing. The competitiveness of the legal economy is declining. This, in turn, pushes other economic structures to go into the shadows.

The resource provision of corruption is increasing, which leads to an increase in its scale.

Large uncontrolled financial resources make it possible to influence state policy, the media and election campaigns at various levels. It also contributes to the development of corruption.

There is a redistribution of national income in favor of the elite group, due to corruption and the control of criminal groups over the shadow economy. This leads to strong property stratification and the growth of confrontation in society.

There is an outflow of capital abroad. The uncontrolled trade in low-quality goods and goods dangerous for the consumer is expanding.

The difficulty in assessing the scale of the shadow economy leads to large errors in determining the most important economic and social indicators of the development of society. This makes it difficult to develop correct management decisions at various levels. In addition, in the previous paragraph, it was said about the mistakes in public administration, which are caused by the presence of a developed shadow economy and an incorrect assessment of its scale.

A vivid example of the large-scale development of informal relations in the economic and other spheres of the country's life can be Russia, which today has become one of the "leaders" in terms of the scale and scope of their distribution.

The formation of the modern "shadow" economy in Russia can be attributed to the late 60s - early 70s. It was at this time that a significant increase in the needs of the population caused the growth of speculation as the original form of illegal business. The main reasons for its development are the outpacing growth of income against the relatively low rates of commodity filling of the consumer market, state voluntarism in setting retail prices, which, as a rule, did not reflect the socially necessary labor costs for the production of goods, and the system of natural distribution of material goods.

The formation of the "shadow" economy took place against the backdrop of a struggle between factors both constraining and stimulating the development of these processes. Limiting factors include the following;

low degree of differentiation of the population according to the level of material prosperity;

lack of large cash savings for the majority of the population;

strict legislation and practice of law enforcement agencies;

mass consciousness, negatively perceiving circumvention of the law for selfish purposes;

limited inquiries of the population due to lack of information.

The stimulating factors include:

the growth of needs along with the growth of incomes among all segments of the population;

outpacing income dynamics in comparison with the growth of labor productivity, relatively low growth rates in the production of consumer goods and services;

the progressive growth of reliable savings among the population;

an increasing desire to "reify" cash as a way of saving them from inflation;

containment of economic initiative, the departure of active entrepreneurs in the "shadow" business;

criminal economy	^ Forced Extralegal Economy
Subjects	Traditional crime, mafia, oligarchs, corrupt officials	Small and medium entrepreneurs, self-employed, household
The nature of the activity by goals and motives	Intentional, aimed at personal enrichment	Forced, related to survival
Methods of unfair competition	Non-payment of taxes, collusion in the market, bribing government officials, physical impact on competitors	Tax evasion
Nature of activities by consequences and extent of damage	Pronounced antisocial, criminal	Extralegal, not carrying a serious threat to society
Population attitude	negative	sympathetic, tolerant

The degree of social responsibility of business does not always fit into the legislative framework. The state is not able to strictly establish the ratio between the level of income of owners and the level of wages of their employees. Often the owners of large corporations emphasize the relatively high level of pay of their employees, deliberately hushing up the much higher level of pay for similar work abroad.

The low level of social responsibility is also manifested in the fact that corporations use offshore zones in their activities. Formally, this does not contradict the law, but in fact the state budget does not receive significant amounts.

The damage caused to the state and society by the two identified types of shadow economy is also incomparable. It's not just about the amount of property damage. Corruption, for example, destroys the very foundations of statehood.

Problem "forced extralegal economy" requires more careful consideration. Here I would like to once again refer to the study of the famous Peruvian scientist and public figure E. de Soto. An appeal to history reveals that the shadow boom in Peru began with an influx of migrants into the cities: “... in order to survive, migrants became shadow workers. If they wanted to live, trade, produce, transport or even consume, then they, the new inhabitants of the cities, had to do it only illegally. There was no anti-social intent in such illegality, unlike drug trafficking, theft or robbery, the goals were completely legitimate: to build houses, provide services, do business.

In general, this kind of shadow activity is a response of citizens to miscalculations in the economic mechanism, ignoring their needs and requirements.

In connection with the foregoing, one cannot fail to see some positive aspects of this kind of shadow economy. These include, firstly, its stabilizing role: the significant size of the shadow economy in developing countries makes it possible to smooth out declines in production and crisis phenomena in world markets. Secondly, the existence of the extralegal sector makes it possible to realize the entrepreneurial potential, which remains unclaimed due to the high costs of access to the legal market.

The experience of transforming states shows that during periods of social and economic crises, the shadow economy often performs constructive functions: it reduces the depth of the transformational recession, levels the sharply marked income differentiation, reduces the unemployment rate, and plays the role of a kind of optimizing mechanism of economic activity for economic agents in an immature market infrastructure. The two main types of the shadow economy (criminal and forced extralegal) can also be subdivided into subspecies (or varieties).

AT forced extralegal economy can be distinguished:

the "gray" economy of small and medium-sized businesses, fading into the shadows from the heavy tax burden, bureaucratic obstacles and extortions, etc.;
self-employed, directly concerned with the survival of their families.

As part of criminal economy stand out:

traditional criminal business;
criminal economic activities of corrupt government officials and oligarchs.

As a result, we obtain the following classification of the shadow economy (Fig.

3. Types and varieties of the shadow economy

Of particular interest are also the possibilities of classifying the shadow economy depending on the structure of entrepreneurship (small, medium business, large capital), forms of ownership (state, municipal, private, mixed, etc.), and the extent of the damage. Obviously, among the agents (participants) of the shadow economy, small business will be the most numerous, but in terms of economic and social damage caused to society, the leader, of course, is big business (oligarchs).

The bulk of crimes in post-Soviet Russia is related to former or current state property. Economic crimes related to state property (manipulation with budgetary funds, privatization, corruption of government officials, shadow operations in foreign economic activity, etc.) are especially dangerous not only in terms of the amount of economic damage, but also in terms of political and moral consequences.

The main types of the shadow economy should be considered the criminal economy and the forced extralegal economy.
Varieties of the criminal economy are the traditional criminal business and the criminal economic activities of government officials and oligarchs.
Varieties of the forced extralegal economy are the "gray" economy of small and medium-sized businesses and the shadow operations of the self-employed and households.

The price of obedience to the law and the price of extralegality.

High transaction costs for the exchange of legally fixed powers prevent the rights from falling into the hands of the owners, who will be able to dispose of them most effectively. Does this mean that exchange does not take place at all and economic agents resign themselves to a suboptimal ownership structure? The search for an alternative solution reflects the attempts of economic agents to specify property rights and organize their exchange without the participation of the state, i.e. illegally. This term means the refusal of individuals to use the norms of written law for the organization of daily activities and the appeal to unwritten law, i.e. norms fixed not in laws, but mainly in traditions and customs, as well as to alternative mechanisms for resolving conflicts over the exchange and protection of property rights 1 . Thus, economic agents avoid getting into a deadlock when the state cannot, during the initial specification of property rights, endow it with potentially the most effective owners, and the exchange of rights is impossible due to prohibitively high transaction costs.

Many examples of the coexistence of legal and extra-legal systems of property rights are known. In a command economy, despite the nationwide nature of property enshrined in law, the main powers were actually in the hands of the bureaucracy, both party and administrative (ministries, central offices) 2 . Accordingly, there were also alternative conflict resolution mechanisms, which took the form bidding and deals, where the subject of exchange was not only goods and services, but also "position in society, power and subordination, laws and the right to violate them" 3 . An even more striking example of dualism is the economy of Peru and other Latin American countries, where the state judicial system and the property rights protected by it underlie only a small part of transactions. As E. de Soto showed, the activities of entire sectors of the economy - retail trade, public transport, construction, etc. - are regulated on the basis of an extralegal system of property rights 4 . For example, the construction of a new multi-storey residential building in the capital of Peru, Lima, does not begin with obtaining permission from the mayor's office, but with the capture of a site for construction on a first-come-first-served basis. Subsequently, the property right established in this way is protected by social sanctions and customary law, and not by legally fixed titles of property rights.

1.1. The price of obeying the law

The main reason for illegal economic activity is the high transaction costs associated with acting within the law. Using the classification of transaction costs discussed in the previous lecture, we note that we are mainly talking about the high costs of concluding a contract, the costs of specifying and protecting property rights, and the costs of protection from third parties. However, E. de Soto proposes to combine these costs into one term "the price of obeying the law." The price of obeying the law includes 5:

costs of access to the law - registration costs legal entity, to obtain licenses, open a bank account, obtain a legal address and complete other formalities;

⇐ Previous40414243444546474849Next ⇒

Publication date: 2015-04-10; Read: 408 | Page copyright infringement

Studopedia.org - Studopedia.Org - 2014-2018. (0.003 s) ...

Moscow State Law Academy

Essay on economics on the topic:

Shadow economy in Russian Federation

AZAZELLO

Chapter 1. Definition of the shadow economy and the form of its manifestation. 3

Chapter 2. The mechanism of functioning of the shadow economy. 5

Conclusion. eight

References.. 9

Chapter 1. Definition of the shadow economy and the form of its manifestation.

Opening this question, first of all, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the term "criminal economy". The most common opinion on this matter says that the shadow economy is an economic activity that is contrary to this legislation, i.e. it is a set of illegal economic activities that fuel criminal offenses of varying severity.

In addition, this term can also be understood as the production, consumption, exchange and distribution of material goods uncontrolled by society.

In fact, all these definitions are correct, since they characterize the shadow economy from different angles and do not contradict each other. Thus, the shadow economy, as it were, breaks up into several blocks:

1. Informal economy. This includes all legally permitted types of economic activity, within the framework of which the production of services, goods, which are not taken into account by official statistics, and the concealment of this activity from taxation take place.

2. Fictitious economy. These are registrations, theft, speculative transactions, bribery and all kinds of fraud related to the receipt and transfer of money.

3. Underground economy. It refers to types of economic activity prohibited by law.

The objective reason for the rapid growth of the shadow economy in Russia is the transition from a bureaucratic, command management system to a market one. The change in the social system is accompanied by a change in the old morality. At the same time, the shadow economy should be based and developed from specific sources.

The first of them is the notorious export of capital, raw materials and energy resources abroad (according to authoritative experts, this is about $30 billion a year), while the bulk of transactions are not in the literal sense of the shadow, i.e. is carried out legally: raw materials and energy resources are often sold abroad at low prices through intermediary companies, and the corresponding percentage of the profits of the latter settles abroad.

The second and main source of the shadow economy is economic activity that is not registered by government agencies, which takes place in all sectors of the economy. For example, how can numerous strata of the population survive over the course of 5-6 years of reforms, whose incomes turned out (according to official statistics) to be significantly lower than the subsistence minimum?

According to official statistics, the standard of living of the population in Russia in 1995 compared to 1991 was 60%. And only in 1995, real wages fell by 25%. Meanwhile, the number of cars in private ownership has not decreased, while the number of foreign cars has increased: in 1995 alone, 400,000 cars were imported into Russia. This statistic can only be explained by the presence of the shadow factor.

On a global scale, the share of the shadow economy is estimated at 5-10% of the gross domestic product. Thus, in African countries this figure reaches 30%, in the Czech Republic - 18%, and in Ukraine - 50%; the share of the shadow economy in the economic turnover of Russia is 40%.

An indicator of 40-50% is critical. At this turn, the influence of shadow factors on economic life becomes so tangible that the contradiction between the legal and shadow ways is observed in almost all spheres of society.

Evasion of official registration of commercial contracts or deliberate distortion of their content during registration can be considered a key sign of shadow activity. At the same time, cash and especially foreign currency become the main means of payment. In solving business issues, so-called “showdowns” predominate.

A kind of superstructure of the shadow economy - purely criminal elements, simply speaking, criminals.

In the middle - shadow business executives. These include entrepreneurs, merchants, financiers, industrialists, small and medium businessmen. These people are the "motor" of economic activity, and not only illegal ones.

The third group is represented by employees, both physical and intellectual labor. They can be joined by corrupt civil servants, whose income (according to some sources) up to 60% is bribes.

Of course, this division is to a certain extent conditional and undisputed, but it covers about 30 million of the country's active population.

The common interest for all layers of the "pyramid" is to receive additional income outside the "legal field". There are also general forms of realization of interests. So, the export of capital abroad is inherent in everyone. True, representatives of the criminal and middle levels do this mainly through illegal operations with raw materials and strategic materials, with imported goods, with investments, with forged payment documents. Experts estimate the capital exported by the efforts of only these layers at $300 billion. Hired workers can only offer "brains" and working hands for export.

Criminal structures operate mainly in the sphere of redistribution of income, which is obtained by non-economic methods, mainly by violence - from blackmail to hired assassination.

Representatives of the middle stratum, as a rule, are initially the legal owners of the income generated. And only in the future, by the will of circumstances, they “take away” income from taxation. Often it is impossible for them to do otherwise: the application of existing fines and penalties jeopardizes the existence of their own business. They involve representatives of criminal structures for the role of judges-arbitrators for the execution of transactions. After all, the transactions are not registered, which means that it is impossible to officially apply to the arbitration court in case of non-fulfillment of the agreement.

The criminal layer of the “pyramid” is objectively interested in the existing conditions under which the shadow economy is gaining momentum. For its representatives control up to 90% of enterprises and organizations. (This work is pure plagiarism. The student just downloaded it from the Internet. The work itself was prepared by a student of the Moscow State Law Academy. Dear teacher, appreciate this “creativity of your student at its true worth. Let him understand that you need to at least read what you download!) And this is the main field for illegal income. In order to preserve this situation, bribery of elected and appointed officials is used. Is that why the relevant laws are being considered in the legislative bodies for so long?

The current situation should not suit shadow business executives: they find themselves between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand - criminal structures, on the other - law enforcement agencies. Yes, and responsibility to each other to fulfill the terms of the transaction.

Objectively, hired professional workers find themselves in worse conditions now. In developed countries, the salary at the main place of work is 70-80% of the employee's income, and in Russia - only about a third. The increase in the influence of criminal elements cannot suit hired workers. Paying for the "roof" automatically raises the price of goods and services by 30%. And serious on the budget of the consumer.

Chapter 2. The mechanism of functioning of the shadow economy.

The mechanism of functioning of the shadow economy can be divided into two large classes. These are the main and auxiliary mechanisms.

The first one, the main one, assumes the existence of an “object of exploitation”, while the state or a large enterprise acts as a “cash cow”.

Relevant schemes:

First: Limited liability partnerships (or closed joint-stock companies, etc.) are created at the enterprise, among the founders of which are the executives of the base enterprise. The purchase of resources, equipment, components is carried out through the mediation of these partnerships so that the resources are more expensive for the enterprise than with direct deliveries, but as a result, members of the partnership increase their income.

The scheme is symmetrical, acting in both directions - the sale of surplus raw materials and materials to the side is also carried out through the mediation of these organizations, which also have their own percentage of income here.

Second: A certain commercial structure rents production facilities from the base enterprise, producing products similar to those of the plant.

The number of employees, one way or another involved in this structure, includes employees of the sales departments of the plant, forwarding the most profitable orders to the “parallel enterprise”.

Third: The base enterprise is an NGO or research institute that receives funds for research and development from the state budget. These funds are transferred from the budgetary account of the enterprise to the deposit account of a commercial bank. After the expiration of the term, determined by the deposit agreement and the time of the implementation of the research plan, the money is paid to real performers (who previously worked without payment), the budget and deposit accounts are “cleared”, and the deposit percentage is transferred to the appropriate commercial structure, where they were involved called "scientists".

The above three schemes of mechanisms cover operations to conceal the income received from state taxation. Here, in fact, the “ends” of the above transactions are lost: turning into cash or currency, income is invested in real estate and personal property, transported abroad.

This range of transactions is difficult to record and study, and the rapid establishment of a new domestic banking system is directly related to servicing such transactions.

Currently registered level business activity does not allow the majority of industrial, construction and transport enterprises to at least maintain production capacities. An attempt to include the costs of their maintenance and operation in the price of products leads to its sharp rise in price, as a result of which orders for the production of services through “small enterprises” operating at the base enterprise have become almost an official practice. This is the current mechanism of "tradition" of the main income.

The general structure of any financial and economic grouping that conducts joint “shadow” activities usually includes:

- enterprises engaged in trade, intermediary and production operations;

- "security service";

What is each of these elements? The same economic activity is usually carried out by Russian entrepreneurs through several firms. This helps to solve the problem of temporary insolvency of their partners: non-payments are "dumped" to one of the enterprises, which specializes in their "unfolding". In addition, with the help of a branched structure, it is easier for the main group of owners to control the behavior of their partners (reorganizations and redistribution of property in groups occur regularly).

The bank allows you to quickly transfer non-cash money into cash and vice versa, not to mention other operations.

"Security Service" different forms: these are ordinary security guards, and sports sections funded by the group, and the “roof” of state governments. In addition, most groups in one way or another tend to act as co-founders in public organizations and means mass media, which is regarded as the spread of concern for one's security to the sphere of public opinion.

Relationships can also be different. In this capacity are: ordinary (direct or distant) relatives, former joint work in party, Komsomol organizations and government bodies, compatriots, ethnicity.

The structures of the “shadow economy” are, in principle, not economic in the full sense; focused on the maximum satisfaction of the consumer's needs at the minimum cost of the manufacturer. They are more like a state in miniature. This is evidenced by the presence of bodies similar to the Central Bank and "power ministries", the duplication of enterprises that are engaged in the same operations, etc.

The roots of the growth of the shadow economy developed in the 80s, at the time of the final degradation of the administrative system. The new generation of political leaders in Russia has exchanged "power for property." There is no reliable analysis in this regard, however, if we accept such a hypothesis as a working one, then this way of managing the national economy that destroys the national economy becomes more understandable.

Behind the disputes of recent years about reforms and counter-reforms, about the fact that transformations are going badly or have stopped altogether, society is missing the completely obvious reality of the formation of a system of highly criminalized economic relations, characterized by a number of features.

This is, first of all, the huge weight of the "shadow" sector, the huge role of informal and extra-legal relations.

This is the formation of clans in the economic sphere - stable power-economic structures, having a "roof" in the form of one or another state power body, disposing of large sums of capital accumulated in various ways and conducting large-scale commercial activities. However, one of the consequences of the emergence of such clans is the blocking of competition in the financial markets, in the markets of the main groups of goods, and even in foreign trade.

Another sad consequence of the formation of clans - a narrow stratum of people who appropriate colossal incomes - is the impoverishment of a huge part of the population.

The fourth consequence is the redistribution of national income in favor of the elite group. We see how it is growing, while the national economic spheres that ensure the well-being of the majority of the population (health care, education, etc.) are declining.

The fifth consequence is the outflow of Russian capital abroad.

This whole system is being steadily reproduced today, and the main mechanism of its reproduction is connected with the fact that the formed clans actually dictate their terms in making national economic and political decisions. And those enterprises that, as expected (in a market economy, operate at their own peril and risk, are law-abiding and regularly pay taxes, without a “roof” in power structures and law enforcement agencies, are doomed to bankruptcy.

The fact that the entire state apparatus is subordinated to the interests of the elected clans is evidenced by the government policy of increasing the budget, public debt, as well as the privatization policy, which is clearly being commissioned by specific commercial structures. In this situation, the entire budget is aimed at serving the relevant interests. The fact is, on the one hand, a huge overspending budget funds compared with the legally established limits on servicing the state apparatus, on the provision of government loans. On the other hand, there are constantly underfunded spending on social and cultural needs, healthcare and defense.

This kind of economic system does not represent anything fundamentally new in economic history. Its analogues exist in the Philippines, Mexico, Colombia. And world experience shows that it is very difficult to get out of such a trap.

Conclusion.

The information provided is an average overview of the scale of the shadow economy, but even this data allows us to understand how strongly the shadow economy affects all areas of our lives.

Summing up the above, I would like to emphasize that in the conditions of the absurd economic system that has developed in our country, the shadow economy simply could not but arise.

With regard to the shadow economy, two types of action are needed. On the one hand, we have to “fight” with it, and this is the function of law enforcement agencies, which they must perform as best as possible. On the other hand, to introduce a “shadow” into standard sizes through legalization, and in such a way that it would benefit domestic production.

Today's economic policy in relation to the entrepreneur is expressed very simply: "We will crush you, and you survive as you want." Therefore, the entrepreneur faces a dilemma: either break the law or go bankrupt.

Shadow economy - the concept and essence of the shadow economy

And so that the shadow economy does not grow, it is necessary to achieve significant changes in economic policy, which will provide normal conditions for the functioning of domestic producers.

Bibliography

1. “Shadow economy” / Bunich A.P. , Gurov A.I. etc. / M.: Economics, 1991.

2. Yashin A. "Confrontation" / "Economics and Life", No. 41, 1996.

3. Ponomarev P. “The shadow face of banking secrecy” / “Economics and Life”, No. 39, 1996.

4. Ispravnikov V.O. “Shadow capital: confiscate or amnesty?” / “Economics and Life”, No. 24, 1996.

5. Orekhovsky P. “Statistical indicators and the shadow economy” / REJ, No. 4, 1996.

Shadow economy and its structure

Shadow economy- this is the way of economic relations, which covers unrecorded, unregulated and illegal types of economic activity. In each country there is such a component of economic activity that does not fit into the established and legalized norms. This sector of the economy is called differently in different countries: in French literature - "underground", "informal" economy; in Italian - "secret", "underwater"; in English - "unofficial", "underground", "hidden"; in German - "shadow".

In Germany, only financial clandestine transactions were initially attributed to the shadow economy; others believe that the shadow economy covers primarily criminal activity; others believe that the shadow economy as a special sector is formed by all those who evade paying taxes.

At the United Nations, specialists involved in national accounts divide the shadow economy into three types of activities: hidden (or shadow), informal (or unofficial) and illegal.

Hidden characterizes legally permitted activities that are not officially shown or are underestimated in order to evade taxes.

Informal operates on a legal basis and is aimed at the production of goods and services to meet the own needs of households (for example, the implementation of individual construction on their own).

Illegal is an activity that is carried out by employees without legal registration of the contract.

In the structure of the shadow economy in Russia, three types of activity are usually distinguished.

informal economy covers legal activities related to the production of goods and services that are not recorded by official statistics. Such activities have become widespread in the service sector (renovation of apartments; provision of housing in resort areas; preparation of students for admission to higher educational establishments carried out privately without legal formalization of contracts, etc.). At the same time, income recipients hide them from taxation.

fictitious economy- this is an activity that is associated with the receipt of unreasonable benefits by business entities. These include:

registrations carried out by heads of enterprises in the public sector of the economy;
corrupt practices;
fraudulent ways to get money.

underground economy are types of economic activity prohibited by law. These include:

illegal production and sale of products and services;
production of weapons, drugs, smuggling, maintenance of brothels;
activities of persons who do not have the legal right to engage in this type of activity (doctors, lawyers, practicing without a license).

Subjects of the shadow economy in Russia. The entire shadow economy can be divided into two parts according to the nature of the connection with production:

the first is the one that participates in the production of goods and services;
the second is the one that operates in the sphere of redistribution of goods and services created outside this sphere.

In addition, in accordance with the types of the shadow economy, three types of its subjects can be distinguished.

The first group of subjects includes the most criminal elements of the shadow economy: drug and arms dealers; bandits-robbers; hired assassins. This also includes corrupt representatives of authorities who take large bribes, trade in public positions and interests. According to various estimates, these elements account for 5 to 25% of the entire shadow economy.

The second group of subjects consists mainly of shadow business executives. These include entrepreneurs, merchants, bankers, industrialists and farmers, small and medium-sized businessmen, including "shuttle traders" (organizers of their own business). The latter make up a huge army. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, in 1996 they made 30 million flights to foreign countries. If we assume that everyone made an average of three trips per year, then the total number of shuttles is approximately 10 million.

After 1998, the shuttle business declined sharply. Now an increasing part of the goods purchased by the same “shuttles” enters Russia through cargo carriers and, when crossing the border, goes through standard “customs clearance” procedures. This group of subjects is forced to go into the "shadow" mainly because the costs of their activities in existing rules and laws economic game exceed the corresponding benefits and incomes.

"Shuttle" are the following:

Small "shuttle" - the amount of up to 4 thousand. As a rule, he is engaged in the sale of his goods.
The average "shuttle" leaves with an amount of up to a thousand. Returning, only part of the goods is carried with them, the rest is sent with a cargo company (cargo carrier). Usually has employees who sell goods in the markets and work for a percentage of sales. It can also sell goods for sale.
Large "shuttle". Has stable contacts with foreign companies. It usually works according to samples, does not carry large amounts of cash, since it makes payments through banks (albeit according to “shadow” schemes). All ordered goods are sent with freight companies. In Russia, he does not trade at all and, as a rule, has a number of his own outlets.
Shadow economy

The share of the first in the early 1990s. prevailed. Then it began to shrink. After 1998, the flow of commercial tourists has declined significantly.

The third group of subjects is represented by employees of both physical and mental labor. They can be joined by both small and medium-sized civil servants, in whose income, according to available estimates, up to 60% are bribes. For this category of persons, unregistered activities are secondary (informal) employment.

Features of the behavior of individual groups of subjects of the shadow economy. Firstly, criminal structures, as a rule, act, unlike shadow businessmen, in the sphere of circulation in the distribution and redistribution of income. The main ways they "appropriate" part of these incomes are non-economic forms associated with violence: extortion; blackmail; providing a so-called roof to small and medium-sized entrepreneurs for a fee; various methods threats up to contract killings.

Shadow businessmen are the legal owners of the generated income. They only further divert part of the income from the effect of laws and legal norms.

Typically, such steps are a forced measure due to: non-fulfillment of obligations by partners; practiced outright deceit in transactions; using forceful methods of doing business, etc.

Secondly, the behavior of criminal groups of shadow companies is due to the disorder of economic conditions. The more confusion in the economy, the weaker the government, the better for them. Such economic conditions in Russia allowed criminal structures to take control of up to 90% of enterprises and organizations that form the main field for obtaining criminal income. To preserve this situation, bribery of officials is actively used, and organized crime is spreading.

Shadow business owners, on the contrary, are interested in weakening the influence of criminal elements: only paying for a “roof” leads to an increase in the cost of goods and services by about 30%, which leads to a significant decrease in the income of shadow business owners. The position of shadow business executives is complicated by the fact that they are under pressure from two sides. On the one hand, criminal structures encroach on the income of shadow businessmen, forcing them to violate the legal norms of management in order to maintain the maximum level of income; on the other hand, they are under the supervision of legal bodies designed to suppress various kinds of violations.

Thirdly, the behavior of individual groups in the shadow economy is different. The shadow businesses of the first criminal group prefer illegal (or semi-legal) methods of “laundering” criminal money, since their legalization inevitably leads to the exposure of all criminal activities. Representatives of the second group are interested in legalizing their income by changing existing legal norms and laws.

As a result, the laundering of "dirty" money and the legalization of shadow business owners are intersecting, but not identical processes. If the former border on the criminal world, then the latter can mainly be attributed to minor deviations from the law, which are overcome by changing certain business norms.

Interests and the nature of the emergence of shadow structures

The economic theory of criminal and law enforcement activities began to take shape in the late 1960s. as a response of economists to a sharp increase in crime in Western countries. The American economist G. Becker is considered to be the creator of the new theory. In his article "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach", published in 1968, he outlined the basic principles of a new approach to the study of crime and the fight against it. His idea was that the legal system of society is a field of confrontation between rational offenders and defenders of order. Potential criminals carefully weigh the possible income from the crime, comparing it with the possible losses from punishment. They choose the kind of activity (legal and illegal) that maximizes their well-being. Law enforcement officers behave just as rationally. They choose such methods of combating crime that would minimize the cumulative damage to ordinary members of society.

Usually the scale and dynamics of the shadow economy are determined by the following factors:

These general factors can be detailed. The most important provisions influencing the expansion of the shadow economy are:

a) the severity of taxation;
b) a decrease in the amount of income received;
c) an increase in the scale of unemployment;
d) unreasonable strengthening of state restrictions on entrepreneurial activity;
e) disorder in the economy;
f) lack of a clear legislative framework.

The nature of the emergence of the illegal economy. The leading Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto most accurately established the essence and nature of the emergence of the illegal economy. In this regard, he formulated the following fundamental provisions:

The illegal economy is the spontaneous and creative reaction of the people to the state's inability to meet the basic needs of the impoverished masses.

The black market is the reaction of the masses to a system that has traditionally placed them in the position of victims of a kind of legal and economic apartheid. The system invents laws that make impossible the natural desire of the people to have a job and a roof over their heads. Under these conditions, the masses cease to obey the laws; take to the streets to sell what they can; open their own shops; where there is no work, they invent it, learning things about which most until then had no idea.

Those involved in underground activities are more prosperous when they break the law than when they respect it. It can be argued that illicit activity flourishes if legal restrictions exceed some socially acceptable level, and if the state does not have sufficient coercive power.

Personalities in themselves are not “shadows”, their actions and activities are shadowy. Those who act illegally do not constitute a particular sector of society. People flee into the shadow economy when the costs of complying with the law outweigh the benefits of complying with it.

Having established the causes of the phenomenon, it is possible to define the shadow economy as a refuge for those for whom the costs of complying with existing laws in the conduct of ordinary economic activity exceed the benefits of achieving their goals, and this concept characterizes, first of all, the institutional framework that defines the boundaries in illegal economic activity.

It is known that it is very difficult to determine the size of the shadow economy. The shadow companies do not tell the statistical authorities what kind of economic turnover they have. The revolution took place in 1993, when, according to the new version of national accounts approved by the UN, all states were recommended to take into account the shadow economy in production volumes.

Since then, the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation began to master the methods of its accounting. In 1995, the share of the shadow economy in Russia was estimated at 20%. In 1996, it amounted to 23% of GDP. According to expert opinions, the share of the illegal sector in Russia is at least 40%. In Western countries, it is officially estimated at 5-10%. In Russia, the shadow economy began to spread in 1988, when the deregulation of production began, and since 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet economy, it has become the most widespread. The State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation found that the size of GDP during the reform period decreased by 9-10% annually. The share of the shadow economy by sectors of the national economy is shown in fig. 32.1.

Shadow economy and corruption

The shadow economy is directly related to corruption, which over time turns into a specific tool for the emergence of powerful mafia formations. In the economic literature, the stages of the emergence of such criminal structures are formulated.

At the first stage, bribery of officials is used in order to involve them in illegal activities.

At the second stage, organized criminal groups use bribed officials to establish full or partial control over certain state enterprises or organizations by creating various types of commercial structures on their basis.

At the third stage, criminal groups, using corruption connections, “pump public funds into these structures” – obtaining illegal loans and subsidies from the budget, appropriation of foreign exchange earnings from the sale of commodity and raw materials abroad.

As a result, a banal bribe, defined in the dictionary by S.

I. Ozhegov as “money or material values given to an official as a bribe, as payment for criminal actions punishable by law”, is supplemented in modern conditions with new, outwardly quite legal, methods of remuneration for shadow services. These include: financing of political parties and companies, gigantic fees "for lectures and consultations", the issuance of interest-free long-term loans for opening bank accounts, the transfer of shares to relatives of officials, the creation of various kinds of funds to which huge funds are officially transferred, guarantees to officials in case their resignation of highly paid posts in commercial structures.

Many factors testify to the damage of the shadow economy. Thus, according to the information of the head of the Federal Service for Currency and Export Control, the amount of funds that left Russia for the West under formally legal export-import transactions, which later turned out to be fictitious, is billions (“gray” money). If we add to this the actual "dirty" capital (drug dollars, proceeds from the illegal arms trade, racketeering), then, according to experts, the figure will increase to 0 billion.

Methods for measuring the shadow economy

Numerous methods for accounting and measuring the shadow economy have been developed abroad. The following methods are most commonly used.

Methods of specific indicators are associated with the use of any one type of activity and obtained in a direct or indirect way.

Direct methods involve the use of information obtained as a result of inspections and their analysis to identify discrepancies between income and expenditure on certain parameters and thus determine the volume of underground activity.

Indirect methods are based on information from the system of official statistics, data from tax and financial authorities, and include an analysis of employment and financial performance indicators.

The discrepancy method (also called the balance method) is based on a comparison of indicators such as income and expenses, received and used resources. On the basis of the discrepancies obtained, the volumes of shadow production and hidden wages are determined.

Russia has adopted the Italian method for assessing the shadow economy, developed by the Italian Institute of Statistics ISTAT. The main ISTAT approach to valuation is that job data obtained by statisticians (censuses and surveys) are compared with corresponding data from legal, tax, and social security authorities, taking into account economic activity and territorial classification. The resulting units of labor and output per worker are used to calculate the output of value added, which makes it possible to correct the volume of output underestimated by entrepreneurs.

In August 2001, the number of people employed in the informal sector amounted to 10 million people (Table 32.1). About 7.7 million people (77%) were employed only in the informal sector, that is, they had both the main (only) and additional jobs in this sector.

The size of employment in the informal sector is influenced by seasonal factors.

In the 2nd and 3rd quarters, employment in the informal sector is 14–15% higher than in the 1st quarter (mainly due to agricultural work).

In total, the informal sector covers 14–15% of the total employed population, including 11–12% working only in the informal sector. Among rural residents, the coverage of employment in the informal sector of the economy is from 23 to 30% of the total number of employed rural population, among urban residents - 10–12%.

Classification and functions of markets. Illegal economy, the causes of its occurrence. The role of the market in social production. Types of imperfect competition. The concept and types of illegal markets in the Russian Federation. Consequences of activity of the shadow markets.

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

Posted on http://www.allbest.ru/

Introduction

1. Market. Market Functions

4. Consequences of shadow markets

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Fifth stage in history domestic entrepreneurship was the most dramatic. It covered a period that lasted about 60 years: from the late 1920s to the second half of the 1980s. It was a period of undivided domination of the administrative-command system. Entrepreneurship was practically expelled from the legal sector of the economy (except for the remnants of individual handicraft activities) and moved to an illegal position, moving into the shadow economy. Having become one of the constituent parts of this sector of the economy, entrepreneurial activity on a smaller scale and with greater danger to itself nevertheless continued to exist.

Having gone "in the shadows", entrepreneurs tried to realize their commercial experience through speculation under the guise of collective farm or commission trade. Entrepreneurial workers organized the private production of household items, spare parts and products. For decades, shadow companies have competed very successfully with the public sector. For example, the state produced new equipment, but did not provide it with the appropriate infrastructure. On this basis, a private car service center and other types of services developed. The competitiveness of the "shadow" business was facilitated by its focus on demand, production flexibility, and high capital turnover. Asaul A.N. Organization of entrepreneurial activity. Textbook. St. Petersburg: ANO IPEV, 2009. - p.13-14

Among the many classifications of markets, one can also distinguish:

legal;

Illegal.

Due to the increase in the volume of the illegal market, there is a decrease in the volume of the legal market, which in turn raises the question of the need to increase the tax received from organizations that work legally, and this increases the attractiveness of the shadow market. Thus, a kind of vicious circle will turn out.

The purpose of this work is to consider the legal and illegal markets in our country.

Tasks of this work:

– study of the concept of illegal economy;

— definition of legality and illegality of the markets;

– study of the effect of the functioning of shadow markets in the economy of our country.

1. Market. Market Functions

In order to consider the topic of this work more broadly, it is necessary to turn to the concept of the market.

The market is an established system of economic relations, which consist in the exchange of goods and services. The result of these relations are supply, demand and price.

Consider the main functions that the market performs:

1. The integrating function is to unite the area of production, the area of consumption, intermediaries and their involvement in the relationship of buying and selling certain goods and services.

2. Regulatory function is the influence that the market has on the economy as a whole.

3. The stimulating function is to stimulate production to produce products that will be produced at the lowest cost.

4. The controlling function lies in the fact that it is the market that is the main controller of the quality of the final results of production.

5. The intermediary function provides a meeting of economically isolated producers and consumers in order to exchange the results of labor.

6. The information function is that the market processes a huge amount of information and presents the final data on the conditions under which the purchase and sale of goods and services takes place.

The role of the market in social production:

- providing information for production on: what, in what volume and what structure should be produced;

- accompanies the balance of supply and demand;

- to differentiate commodity producers in accordance with the efficiency of their work and focus on covering market demand.

Market classification:

- by market objects: the market for goods and services, the capital market, the labor market, the financial market, the information market;

By geographic location: local, regional, national, world;

- according to the mechanism of functioning: free competition market, monopolized market, regulated market;

- according to the degree of saturation: equilibrium market, scarce market, excess market;

– in accordance with the current legislation: legal market, illegal market.

All of these types of market are interconnected and form an integral market system.

2. Illegal economy. The reasons for its occurrence

The shadow economy (narrowly defined) is the activity of producing ordinary goods and services that is legally permitted and carried out by eligible producers, but deliberately hidden from government agencies in order to evade taxes, social security contributions, comply with the law and standards (in relation to safety, security environment etc.).

Hidden production can also take place in enterprises (small and large) that partially hide their products and income. The shadow economy is studied at the global, macro and micro levels, as well as in the institutional aspect. At the level of the global economy, international shadow relations are considered (for example, drug trafficking, laundering of money obtained by criminal means). Chernenko V.A. International Business. Textbook / Ed. Doctor of Economics, prof. V.A. Chernenko. St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg State University of Service and Economics., 2011, - p. 35-36

Components of the illegal economy:

informal (legal activity without fixing the production of goods and services);

Fictitious (postscript, bribery and other fraud);

criminal.

The following components of the price of illegality are distinguished:

— costs associated with avoiding legal sanctions;

- costs associated with the transfer of income;

- costs associated with payroll tax evasion;

- costs associated with the lack of legally fixed property rights;

— costs associated with the inability to use the contract system;

- costs associated with the exclusively bilateral nature of the illegal transaction;

— costs of access to illegal conflict resolution procedures.

In other words, we can safely say that there is a direct relationship between the high cost of obeying the law and the scale of the shadow economy.

The economic background of the emergence of illegal markets lies in the problem of competition in the market system. The shadow economy here acts as one of the types of imperfect competition, which violates both legislative and moral and ethical standards.

Another reason for the emergence of the shadow sector of the economy is the unequal development of market sectors, as well as inflation, fluctuations in exchange rates.

3. The concept and types of illegal markets in the Russian Federation

The illegal market is a system of relations that occurs contrary to the legislation established in our country and connects consumers and sellers of various goods and services. The illegal market is a basic component for the shadow economy.

From the point of view of economic content, goods markets, service markets, and job markets are classified.

Depending on what products are presented on the market, there are:

a market where legitimate goods and services are sold that satisfy normal needs;

The market where prohibited goods and services are sold:

— drug markets;

- prostitution market;

- the slave market;

- the market for the prohibited trade in animals;

market for stolen goods.

market for criminal services.

Factors that predispose to the development of illegal markets:

— the existence of a legal ban on the circulation of goods, the sale of services, the performance of work (drugs, transplants, stolen property, laundering of criminally obtained proceeds);

— the presence of barriers to market access established by law (state monopoly, licensing, age restrictions for minors in the labor market, copyright, intellectual property protection (patent, trademark));

- state regulation of prices (setting maximum prices, limiting profitability, setting a fixed exchange rate at a level below the equilibrium);

— high level of taxation and other costs associated with the execution statutory obligations;

- insufficient rigidity of state control, the inability of the state to implement a legal prohibition or the implementation of regulatory requirements.

- incapacity state institutions market regulation, enforcement of property rights, contract discipline (e.g. inefficiency judicial system dispute resolution, enforcement of court decisions related to the recovery of debts give rise to a market for criminal services for their "knocking out").

Consequences of shadow markets

The shadow economy has an extremely negative impact on the economy of our country.

First of all, it is worth noting that the shadow economy negatively affects the state treasury, and most of all, budget revenues at all levels. In this regard, there is a decrease in the volume of financing of expenditures on the army, defense, medicine, science and other areas of life.

There are a number of negative consequences that affect the economic system of the Russian Federation:

1. There is a reduction in the tax base. In this regard, there is a growing tax pressure on the legitimate economic sector.

2. There is a decrease in the competitiveness of the legal economic sector. In this regard, the transition of legal economic structures to the shadow economy is possible.

3. The corruption component of the economic system is growing.

4. Uncontrolled large financial resources make it possible to influence state policy, the media and election campaigns at various levels. These factors stimulate the development of corruption.

5. There is a redistribution of the national income in favor of the elite group of society. This causes the strongest property division and increases public confrontation.

6. There is an outflow of capital outside the state.

7. The volume of sales of goods of poor quality and even dangerous to human health is growing.

Due to the fact that it is practically impossible to estimate the volume of the shadow economy, difficulties arise in determining the most important indicators regarding the economic and social spheres of society. Therefore, the chosen management decision can often be wrong.

Conclusion

The problems of the shadow economy attracted the attention of researchers as early as the 1930s. In the late 1970s, serious research appeared in this area. In domestic science and economic practice, interest in the problems of the shadow economy arose in the 80s. The reason for this is the growing role of the shadow sector in the economy and the desire of the country's leadership to stimulate scientific research aimed at identifying deformations and discrediting the command socio-economic system of state socialism.

To date, no generally accepted universal concept of the shadow economy has been formulated.

The variety of positions is due, as a rule, to differences in the nature of the theoretical and applied problems solved by the authors, as well as in the methodology and methodology of research. Ilyin B.V. Shadow economy: Teaching aid for the specialty 021100 "Jurisprudence". - Vologda: VIPE of the Ministry of Justice of Russia, 2008. - p. 5

In our country, at the moment, the shadow economy is highly developed, while there is an inability of the government to exercise strict control over the shadow market.

To date, the shadow economy is a very poorly studied subject. Its presence is quite simple to determine, but it is almost impossible to measure its volumes, due to the fact that information regarding this issue is confidential.

shadow market competition public

Bibliography

1. Asaul A.N. Organization of entrepreneurial activity. Textbook. St. Petersburg: ANO IPEV, 2009.

2. Ilyin B.V. Shadow economy: Teaching aid for the specialty 021100 "Jurisprudence". - Vologda: VIPE of the Ministry of Justice of Russia, 2008.

3. Krasavina L.N. Scientific approaches to assessing the scale of the shadow economy and their impact on Russia's national security. / Scientific approaches to assessing the scale of the shadow economy in the financial and credit sphere and measures to reduce them. - M. : Finance and statistics, 2005.

4. Popov Yu.N., Tarasov M.E. Shadow economy in the market economy: Textbook. - M .: Delo, 2005.

5. Chernenko V.A. International Business. Textbook / Ed. Doctor of Economics, prof. V.A. Chernenko. St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg State University of Service and Economics, 2011.

Featured on Allbest.ur

Chapter 1. The structure of the shadow economy.

Shadow economy in the European Union and the Russian Federation.

term paper, added 06/04/2010

Theory of industrial markets

Influence of institutional factors on the structure of the economy. Functions and types of competition according to the scale of development and certain stages of consumer choice. World Development Trends metallurgical complex. Assessment of internal and external markets.

presentation, added 07/17/2014

Analysis of the behavior of manufacturing firms on different types markets

The market is a certain way of coordinating the activities of participants in social production. Economy of branch markets. The dependence of the total costs of the firm on the volume of production. The market of imperfect (monopolistic) competition. Perfect monopoly.

test, added 04/11/2012

Competition and its role in a market economy

Competition.

The concept and conditions for the emergence of competition and its functions. Market models of perfect and imperfect competition. Pure competition. Competition in the Russian economy. Antimonopoly legislation and state regulation of the economy.

term paper, added 10/16/2008

The essence of the shadow economy, its forms and socio-economic consequences

The aggravation of crisis phenomena in the economy and the growth of shadow processes. The concept of "shadow economy". Shadow economy and socio-economic consequences of its development. The shadow economy exists in all areas, although its scale may vary.

lecture, added 07/01/2008

The Goods Market as the Most Important Component of the General System of Aggregated Markets

The concept and types of benefits: tangible and intangible. Consideration of macroeconomic aggregated markets and their interaction. Features of the goods market in the system of aggregated markets. The commodity market of the Russian Federation, its problems and prospects.

term paper, added 07/10/2015

Types of markets and their characteristics

The advantages of a market economy in the use of limited resources. Comparative analysis markets of perfect and imperfect competition in terms of the number of participants, types of products, competition, conditions for exiting the industry, availability of information.

term paper, added 05/29/2009

Shadow economy in Russia

The concept of shadow economic relations. Illegal activities of enterprises. Types of shadow economy, factors of its origin and development in the Russian Federation. Consequences of shadow production: reduction of the tax base, growth of corruption, capital flight abroad.

term paper, added 05/06/2013

The structure of the shadow economy.

So the shadow economy- this is a part of the economy formed by criminal (illegal) economic activities of two types - entrepreneurial and criminal, the scale of which depends on the level of economic development of the country.

The typology of the shadow economy varieties (Fig. 1, Table 1) according to three criteria - their connection with the "white" ("first", official) economy, as well as subjects and objects of economic activity - identifies the following sectors of the shadow economy:

- "second"("white-collar");

- "gray"("informal");

- "black"("underground").

Table 1.

Criteria for typology of the shadow economy

Rice. 1. Structure of the shadow economy

"White-collar" ("second") shadow economy - it is a legally prohibited hidden economic activity of workers of the "white" economy in their workplaces, leading to a hidden redistribution of previously created national income. Basically, such activities are carried out by "respectable people" from the leading personnel ("white collars"), therefore this kind of shadow economy is also called "white collar".

Under the "white-collar" crime, for example, in the interpretation of US federal courts, refers to offenses in the commission of which there is damage to trade, violation of insurance and foreign exchange rules, bribery by officials, concealment of income from tax authorities, embezzlement, fraud in postal transactions etc.

In general, white-collar crime means that:

- the subjects of this type of criminal activity are mainly "decent" representatives of society and business circles - officials and other employees of business entities;

- criminal activity is carried out in the sphere of economics and management and uses legal economic, economic, financial activities as its basis and cover;

- these are crimes committed without the use of violence, but with the use of economic methods, legal "holes" in the legislation, official position;

- this is a high degree of organization, multi-storey criminal activity, penetrating into all spheres of the economy;

- crimes are committed using the most advanced technologies, including computer technology and telecommunications, and the same technology makes it possible to disguise the means by which crimes are committed.

"Black" shadow economy(economy of organized crime) - economic activity prohibited by law, related to the production and sale of prohibited goods and services. These are all activities of professional criminals, completely excluded from normal economic life, since they are considered incompatible with it, destroying it. This is not only a redistribution based on violence - theft, robbery, extortion, but also the production of goods and services that destroy society, such as drug trafficking and racketeering.

In the economic literature, it is conventionally distinguished three groups of subjects of the shadow economy:

— first group- purely criminal elements at its top and their workforce: drug and arms dealers, racketeers, bandits-robbers, hired killers, pimps, prostitutes, corrupt representatives of government and administration;

— second group- shadow businessmen (entrepreneurs, merchants, bankers, small and medium-sized businessmen, including "shuttle traders");

— third group- employees of physical and mental labor, small and medium-sized civil servants, more than half of whose income is bribes.

5. The main reasons for the existence and growth of the shadow economy are:

- government intervention in the economy.

Shadow economy. Structure and nature of occurrence

It is believed that the share of the shadow sector directly depends on the degree of state regulation, the severity of the tax burden and the effectiveness of tax administration, as well as on the scale of corruption and organized crime. Going into the "shadow" is often caused by a cumbersome bureaucratic mechanism for registering a business (for example, in the late 90s, to register a company in Russia, it was necessary to obtain the consent of 54 instances, and in Finland - 5). Another reason is the unwillingness or impossibility of paying excessively high, in the opinion of economic agents, taxes. So, in Russia in the second half of the 90s. firms, subject to the laws, had to pay in taxes more than half of the newly created value, which was especially intolerable for start-up entrepreneurs in the conditions of "primitive capital accumulation." Tax evasion was also facilitated by the weakness of tax administration. Firms could receive individual tax benefits or repay their obligations to the state "by agreement", i.e. paid as much as they saw fit. When characterizing the reasons for the existence of the shadow economy, national specifics should be taken into account, for example, the tradition of mistrust of the state in Italy, which goes back to the distant past.

— crisis or depression of the national economy, which entails an increase in unemployment and a decrease in the standard of living of the general population. Part of the population affected by the crisis is trying to start small businesses, but in the presence of high administrative barriers (rules established by the authorities, compliance with which is a prerequisite for doing business, for example, obtaining a license to engage in this type of business) and other transaction costs when entering the market, these entrepreneurs are forced to enter into shadow relationships, for example, to run their own business without official registration. The breakdown of social relations, especially the transition from one economic system to another, leads to the fact that the economic crisis is intertwined with a social and moral crisis, which leads to the growth of the criminal segment of the shadow economy, which happened in Russia in the 90s. As the experience of a number of countries with economies in transition shows, as market relations crystallize and the systemic crisis is overcome, the criminal component of the shadow economy weakens.

6. The shadow non-criminal economy performs in a market and especially a transitional economy the following features:

- stabilizing function;

The informal ("gray") economy allows you to increase the competitiveness of goods and services, as it saves on tax exemptions. Tax-free income from shadow activities makes it possible to raise the living standards of the segments of the population involved in it. In the transitional economy of Russia in the 90s. of the last century, shadow non-criminal incomes, including wages “in an envelope” that are not officially taken into account, were at least comparable in size to legal salary. By creating new jobs and sources of income, the informal economy, especially in the context of an economic crisis, performs the function of a social stabilizer, smoothes out excessive income inequality, and reduces social tension in society.

- destabilizing function;

The criminalization of economic activity poses a serious threat to the stability of society. Massive tax evasion gives rise to a chronic budget crisis, which happened in Russia in the second half of the 1990s. and was one of the main causes of the financial crisis of 1998. The shadow sector in its non-criminal part is often characterized by a low technical level, which leads to the dequalification of the labor force employed in it (for example, when highly qualified engineers and workers whose specialties were not in demand under the new conditions).

Since the scale and structure of the shadow sector largely depends on the economic policy of the state, and the growth of this sector, despite short-term benefits, causes significant damage to society, the authorities should strive to reduce it to a safe size. An important role in this is played by the withdrawal from the “shadow” of the informal segment of the shadow economy.

To do this, the payment of taxes by the participants in this segment should be perceived by them as receiving socially significant services from the state (enforcement of contracts through the courts, security of persons and property, development of social infrastructure, etc.). To this end, the task of the state is to create a favorable climate for legal entrepreneurial activity: reducing administrative barriers, establishing acceptable level taxation, ensuring compliance by economic agents with contractual obligations, guaranteeing private property, etc. In Russia in the early 2000s. a number of reforms were carried out in this direction: the procedure for registering new firms was simplified, the corporate income tax rate was reduced (from 35 to 24%), and a number of benefits for small businesses were introduced.

The shadow economy is created as a result of serious omissions in economic management and legislative chaos.

The shadow economy as a complex socio-economic phenomenon is generated different factors. They can be classified depending on the type of economic relations that arise in the context of economic reform. Some of them are connected with the response of citizens to miscalculations in the economic mechanism, ignoring their needs and requirements. Others are due to the selfish interests of market participants due to the imperfection of the existing and emerging economic system. Finally, we can single out the reasons due to the development of the so-called “black” economy.

The main reasons for the existence and development of the shadow economy are the instability and imbalance of the official economy, the incompleteness and inconsistency of legislative regulation, the inefficiency of the state tax policy, and bribery of officials. Other reasons for the large scale of the “shadow economy” are the significant volume of cash payments, transparency state borders with the CIS countries, illegal migration of citizens.

The result is the growth of the shadow economy and criminal economic activity. It shows up in education. various kinds illegal markets - labor, commodity, financial, currency, with the help of which legislative and contractual restrictions are bypassed.

The reason for not participating in the formal sector may be a lack of trust in formal employment institutions. People may fear that pensions and benefits will not be paid in the agreed amount in the future due to a possible crisis in the financial system or the insolvency of the state.

An important influence on the growth of the shadow economy and its criminalization has a ban on the production, circulation of goods, provision of services, and the implementation of any type of activity. In addition to avoiding control and illegal behavior, this contributes to the development of various forms of organized crime.

Administrative intervention in the process of pricing is manifested in the form of forced setting by the state of a maximum or minimum price for goods and services.

Licensing of various types of economic activity makes private companies dependent on the authorities and creates conditions for the extraction of illegal income by public servants.

In Russia, more severe forms of state intervention are also observed. For example, direct support by the authorities of the so-called "friendly" companies and suppression of competitors with the help of unreasonable use of the powers of regulatory and law enforcement agencies (tax police, etc.) is possible. This is typical for particularly profitable industries (oil business, construction, etc.). There is also a direct distribution of the market by the state between "friendly" firms and the emergence on this basis of informal relations associated with corruption of state and municipal officials who make decisions.

Usually there are three groups of factors that contribute to the development of the shadow economy.

1. Economic factors:

· high taxes (on income, income tax, etc.);

· restructuring of spheres of economic activity (industrial and agricultural production, services, trade);

· the crisis of the financial system and the impact of its negative consequences on the economy as a whole;

· imperfection of the privatization process;

· activities of unregistered economic structures.

2. Social factors:

low standard of living of the population, which contributes to the development of hidden types of economic activity;

high unemployment and the orientation of part of the population to earn income in any way;

· uneven distribution of gross domestic product.

3. Legal factors:

imperfection of the legislation;

· Insufficient activity of law enforcement structures to suppress illegal and criminal economic activities;

· imperfection of the mechanism of coordination in the fight against economic crime.

The considered factors of the formation of the shadow economy are typical mainly for developing countries and countries with economies in transition, which are characterized by a relatively low level of well-being of the population.

For advanced economies, they have a slightly different focus. In the classical version, these include large scale official unemployment, high production costs, shorter working hours, an increase in average life expectancy, and pension problems. In developed countries, shadow production is associated mainly with the use of non-competitive labor: immigrants, housewives, students, pensioners. For this category of persons, obtaining any work that is not associated with the degree of its legitimacy is of particular importance.

The reasons for the growth of the shadow economy are very mobile and dynamic. Their diversity is due to the existence and at the same time the emergence of many new internal and external relations in the bowels of the shadow economy, which makes it possible to trace the emerging shifts in its structure.

The following factors contribute to the development of the shadow economy in the banking and financial sector:

1) Economic entities have free access to the client's cash, this process is not controlled by anything.

2) Until now, Russia does not provide for administrative and criminal liability of organizations for non-compliance with the conditions for working with cash and conducting cash transactions, including:

3) For making cash settlements with other organizations, if the amount of these settlements exceeds the amounts established by law

4) For non-compliance with the conditions agreed with the credit institution regarding the use of incoming cash to the organization, as well as its use without agreement with the credit institution

5) For obstructing the conduct of inspections by credit institutions for compliance with the established procedure for the use of funds

6) For incorrect execution of primary accounting documents and their absence, improper accounting.

7) An additional possibility of violating the established procedure for payments is the ability of the organization to open many accounts in the bank (settlement, budget, current, letter of credit, loan, deposit, currency, and others).

8) The absence of legislative acts on the acceptance of land and other assets as collateral for a loan real estate

9) In the context of the development of electronic payment systems, there is a lack of a regulated procedure for its implementation

10) Lack of a unified database of persons involved in economic crimes

More than 2/3 of the recent violations in the financial sector revealed in Russia are the result of dishonest or incomplete control of the financial sector by banks. A third of the detected violations of the law accounted for fraud with foreign exchange payments, and one fifth - the conduct of various kinds of capital foreign exchange transactions by commercial banks without the appropriate permissions of the Bank of Russia.

It should be noted that the Bank of Russia counteracts the shadow economy, using its functions, such as: currency regulation, currency supervision, banking supervision and other elements that provide maximum resistance to illegal transactions. Work is also underway to prevent the penetration of criminal capital into the country's financial market. In order to protect the interests of banks, investors and other financial sector entities, as well as in accordance with banking legislation and federal law, the Bank of Russia approved the Regulation “On the Organization of Internal Control in Banks”. This ordinance applies to all commercial banks and non-bank credit organizations and fully regulates the procedure for conducting inspections, issuing loans and credits, checking the creditworthiness of the client and other critical elements of the functioning of the bank.

Chapter 2. Practical

High taxes, various restrictions and greed make people run their businesses in the shadows in order to circumvent the laws and make super profits. The shadow business brings significant damage to the state economy and it is necessary to actively fight against it.

What is the shadow economy?

Activities that develop uncontrolled and without state accounting are called the shadow economy. There are a number of reasons that provoke its appearance. The concept and essence of the shadow economy has been studied for many years, and the definition and blocking of illegal activities are an important condition for the full development of society and the country. The term began to be used in 1970.

The shadow economy has tight and quite legal ties with the real sector of the economy, and it also uses public services, such as labor or various social factors. Such illegal activities help to receive huge profits, which are not taxed and are aimed solely at their own enrichment.

Types of shadow economy

There are several types of shadow economy that form a certain structure:

white collar. This option implies that officially working people are engaged in prohibited activities, which becomes the reason for the hidden distribution of national income. The concept of the shadow economy indicates that the subject of such activities are people from business circles with high positions. "White-collar workers" use their official position and legal shortcomings in the legislation. Modern technology is often used to commit crimes.
Gray. The structure of the shadow economy includes an informal type of business, that is, when the activity is permitted by law, but it is not registered. This is predominantly a small business engaged in the manufacture and sale of various goods and services. This type is the most common.
Black. This is the economy of organized crime associated with the manufacture and distribution of things prohibited by law (poaching, weapons, drugs).

Pros and cons of the shadow economy

The fact that illegal and hidden from the state activity negatively affects the standard of living of a person and general position of the country itself, many people know, but at the same time, few people understand that the shadow economy, as a socio-economic phenomenon, has its own advantages. If we compare the pros and cons of such activities, then the disadvantages significantly outweigh the scales.

Cons of the shadow economy

Many countries are actively fighting this problem, since it negatively affects many processes and the development of society.

It slows down the growth of the economic development of the state, for example, GDP is declining, unemployment is growing, and so on.
Government revenues are declining because illegal businesses do not pay taxes.
Budget expenditures are being reduced and employees of the public sector, pensioners and other groups of people receiving social benefits suffer from this.
The trap of the shadow economy is related to the fact that it contributes to the growth of corruption, but corruption itself stimulates the development of illegal activities.

Advantages of the shadow economy

As already mentioned, there are few positive aspects of illegal activities, but they are:

The positive effects of the shadow economy are due to the fact that such activities bring investment to the legal sector.
It is a kind of smoothing mechanism for the existing jumps in the economic situation. This is possible due to the redistribution of resources between the permitted and prohibited sectors.
The shadow economy has a positive effect on the consequences of financial crises when mass layoffs workers who can find a job in the informal sector.

Shadow economy and corruption

It has already been mentioned that these two concepts are interconnected and they are called socio-economic twins. The essence of the shadow economy and corruption are similar in causes, goals and other factors.

Illegal activities can develop only in conditions when all branches of power and administration are corrupt.
Activity outside the law contributes to the formation of corrupt relations in all areas that affect its prosperous existence.
Corruption forces illegal businesses to remain in the shadows, and it also creates a basis for organizing new areas for shadow businesses.
These two concepts are the mutual financial basis of each other.

The main factors that provoke the emergence of illegal activities include:

High taxes. It is often unprofitable to conduct a business officially, since all profits go to taxes.
High level of bureaucracy. Describing the causes of the shadow economy, one should not lose sight of the guilt of the bureaucratization of all processes necessary for registering and running a business.
Excessive State Intervention. Many people in legitimate business complain that tax office often conducts inspections, issues fines, and so on.
Small penalties for revealing illegal activities. The fine imposed on a person who engages in illegal activities is in most cases much less than his profit.
Frequent crises. During an economic downturn, it becomes unprofitable to conduct legal economic activity and then everyone tries to go into the shadows.

Negative consequences of the shadow economy

Illegal business is a destructive phenomenon that negatively affects the entire economic system of the state. To understand why the shadow economy is bad, you need to look at the list of negative consequences.

There is a reduction in the state budget, because there are no tax deductions.
Due to the impact on the credit and financial sector, negative changes are taking place in the structure of the payment turnover and stimulating inflation.
The consequences of the shadow economy also apply to foreign economic activity, as there is distrust on the part of foreign investors.
Corruption and abuse of power are on the rise. As a result, the process of development of the country's economy slows down and the whole society suffers.
Many underground organizations, in order to reduce costs and in the absence of funding, do not comply with environmental regulations, which negatively affects the state of the environment.
The shadow economy has worsened working conditions as businesses ignore labor laws.

Methods of combating the shadow economy

Coping with informal activities is very difficult, given the magnitude of the spread. The fight against the shadow economy should be comprehensive and concern different aspects.

Carrying out reforms of the tax system that will help bring part of the income out of the shadows.
Tougher penalties for corrupt officials.
The introduction of measures to return the exported capital from the country and create an attractive investment climate in order to stop the financial outflow.
Identification of industries that operate underground, and the termination of their activities.
Increasing control over cash flows, which will not make it possible to launder large amounts.
Reducing pressure on business from the state, for example, reducing the number of supervisory authorities and inspections.
Prohibition on uncontrolled provision and attraction of loans.
Redistribution of power in the courts and other authorities. Legislation needs to be tightened.

Literature on the shadow economy

Illegal types of business are carefully studied by economists, which leads to the existence of different literature on this topic.

"Shadow economy" Privalov K.V.. The tutorial presents a new approach to the interpretation of this concept. The author explores the problem of evolution and various consequences of illegal business.
"Conditions for the effective impact of the state on the shadow economy" L. Zakharova. The author is interested in how the fight against the shadow economy goes, the book pays attention to several ways.

Venture investments in innovative projects and start-ups Venture investments have recently become very popular among young entrepreneurs who want to introduce their unique product or idea to the market. There are different types of such deposits and recommendations for attracting them.	Mixed economy - the pros and cons of modern mixed economy Mixed economy often becomes the choice of developed countries. Among the main tasks are providing employment and stabilizing prices. There are American, German, Swedish and Japanese models. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Dumping and price discrimination - pros and cons Dumping is an artificial price reduction. The purpose of such measures is to enter new markets and drive out competitors. It is not easy to deal with such a phenomenon, but it is possible using well-thought-out tactics. One way to win is to create package offers.	Is issuing money good or bad? The issue of money is the release into free circulation of money. This procedure is necessary to stimulate the country's economy and replace damaged banknotes. A possible negative consequence is a decrease in the purchasing power of banknotes and coins.

Shadow economy: concept, types, signs. Shadow economy in Russia and other countries

articles:

The insufficient level of development of economic relations in society, the mechanisms of state administration leads to a negative phenomenon - the shadow economy.

Essence, types, forms of the shadow economy

The desire to hide income (or part of it) from regulatory authorities is present in many business entities and citizens around the world.

But in some countries there are favorable conditions for the prosperity of the shadow business (massive corruption, a weak system of management and control, inflated rates of taxes and fees), in others such conditions are suppressed by a harsh system of punishments, the absence of systemic bribery, and a flexible, reasonable taxation system.

Another important factor in the development of the shadow economy is the difficult social situation. A person who does not have enough basic means of subsistence is forced to agree to work unofficially for a dishonest employer.

The main types and components of shadow activities from statistical, regulatory authorities:

"Second" economy. Concealment of part of the ongoing business transactions, trade and finance. Carrying out officially permitted types of economic activity, business entities do not reflect in accounting, statistical, tax accounting and reporting a certain share of shipped products, services performed, hide part of the proceeds, real wages from taxation;
Black business. Illegal engagement in prohibited activities (smuggling, drug trafficking, hidden trafficking in counterfeit alcohol and tobacco products, sale of weapons);
"Grey" economy. Obtaining income by fraudulent means (calculating buyers in places of trade, registration, theft, bribes), organizing underground workshops. Hiding from accounting labor resources, their real wages and mandatory contributions to social funds and the budget. Doubtful financial transactions with the aim of withdrawing funds to offshore zones;
Corrupt income in the public sector(bribes for “solving issues” to officials, representatives of regulatory authorities, as well as in the areas of healthcare, education, utilities and public services).

The main spheres of the shadow economy are underground production, provision of services, and retail trade. As a rule, the subjects of organized crime are engaged in the "black" economy. This shadow segment poses the greatest danger to the further development of the state.

Fertile ground for "black" business is fueled by corruption in law enforcement, the relationship between the shadow economy and organized crime.

These two negative factors require from representatives of the state administration a principled and merciless struggle, the application of severe punishments to protect the country's economy from destruction.

The "gray" and "second" (or "white-collar") economies can be indirectly influenced by financial leverage. It should become unprofitable for business entities to risk business for the sake of hiding taxes, with a corresponding reduction in the tax burden, improvement in economic indicators, and the business atmosphere in the country.

Signs of the shadow economy

The main indicators highlighting the scale of the shadow economy in the territory of the state are:

discrepancy between the level of actual consumption and official income;
overestimated demand for money in comparison with the methodological calculations of the central banks of the countries;
discrepancy in the amount of consumption of electricity, other necessary resources used in production activities, the service sector;
discrepancy between the statistical indicators of employment and their size, established through selective observations, sociological surveys of the population.

Significant deviations of indicators indicate a large share of concealment from the state of transactions between entrepreneurs, an underestimation of the real level of income.

Causes of the shadow economy

Any sane businessman doing business, calculates the size of his investments, expenses, income and expected profit.

If he does not make a profit under normal conditions of financial and economic activity, the search for legal or illegal ways to achieve a positive financial result begins.

An irrational system of taxes, fees, total supervision and control, and systemic corruption do not allow honest entrepreneurs to successfully compete with "dishonest ones", lead to a significant increase in the share of the shadow economy in the creation of the total gross product in the country.

Another reason for the departure of part of the economy into the shadows are financial crises, rising unemployment, and inflation.

Inflation forecast for 2018

A serious social factor, dangerous for the preservation of the integrity of the state, is the loss of confidence of its citizens in the governing bodies.

If people feel that the representatives of the authorities, while collecting taxes, are not properly engaged in providing decent social services in the field of medicine, education, utilities, do not develop the economic sphere, they lose their desire to pay contributions to the state budget.

The inconsistency of economic, legal normative legal acts with the real situation in the country also significantly affects the level of development of the shadow economy.

The growth of the shadow economy, its negative or positive impact

The increase in the share of concealment of income and resources is inextricably linked with the weakening of the state system.

With a decrease in the level of social protection of the population, previously law-abiding citizens, entrepreneurs, who are forced to fight for their survival and the preservation of their own business, join the permanent group of representatives of organized crime.

A vivid example of the growth of the "shadow" is the nineties of the last century in the post-Soviet space. There was no new legal framework, no clear structure of law enforcement agencies, and real power in many places passed to the subjects of organized crime.

The negative consequences of the shadow economy are expressed in the state not receiving the necessary funds to fill the budgets of all levels, the loss of the ability to timely fulfill its obligations to residents in the social sphere (payment of pensions, benefits, ensuring an adequate level of healthcare, education).

Ultimately, when bandit groups really control the country on the basis of the accumulation of huge shadow capital, the official power structures completely lose their purpose in foreign and domestic policy, which leads to the destruction of public administration.

At the same time, during periods of financial crises, the “white-collar” and “gray” types of the shadow sector of the economy partially contribute to the preservation of business entities. The preservation of hidden jobs and unrecorded income allows them to survive in the most difficult financial conditions, which would be impossible with the full fulfillment of obligations to the state budget.

Methods for assessing the shadow economy

Scientists economists in many countries have studied the main factors of influence and have developed methods for determining the size of the economic "shadow".

Dollar exchange rate forecast for 2018: the opinion of a financial analyst

Direct methods are based on the analysis of information obtained through special surveys, observations, inspections in the field of income and expenses of business entities, able-bodied citizens and their real employment.

Indirect methods include a thorough analysis of discrepancies in the calculated and actual data of commodity flows, the expenditure of the main types of production resources.

Monetary methods are based on comparison and analysis of the use of cash in circulation.

Structural methods are aimed at studying the share of hidden turnovers in the main areas of the shadow economy.

Shadow economy in Russia and other countries

It turned out that the highest share of concealment of income and employment exists in the former countries of the Soviet Union.

the reason of that negative fact- weakness, insufficient development of public administration, mass unwillingness to comply with legal norms and really fight corruption:

In Russia and Armenia, the share of shadow incomes was up to 45%, shadow labor costs 40%;
In Azerbaijan, respectively, 60 and 50%;
In Ukraine, 50% of GDP and 41% of labor resources are in the shadow.

In the countries of Central and Eastern Europe with a stable sustainable state and economic system the level of shadow GDP averaged 29%, employment "in the shadow" - 23%. In the USA, according to various estimates, the "shadow" is up to 10%, in Germany, Great Britain - 12%.

When determining the size of shadow business operations in Russia in the 90s of last year, the "Italian system" of calculations was used, based on determining the shadow employment of able-bodied citizens.

Examples of the shadow economy

Some of the results of studies of the Russian economy in recent years are indicative:

For 2015-2016, about 600,000 individual entrepreneurs ceased their official activities;
According to the Central Bank, in 2016 the turnover of dubious banking operations of travel agencies and related transport agencies amounted to 80 billion rubles;
In the summer of 2017, representatives of the Central Bank announced three main areas of money laundering, with a total volume exceeding tens of billions of rubles - retail trade, cashing corporate payment cards, travel agency services.

In order to reduce the volume of suspicious transactions, regulatory supervisory banking authorities introduce restrictive cash circulation measures for business entities.

Estimated figures for hidden economic turnover in Russia indicate a gradual decrease in the share of the "shadow" in the total GDP to 25-30%. But at the same time, the level of corruption does not fall. Probably, the modern state apparatus does not strive for a real fight against corruption.
Estimated figures and banking information indicate an annual dubious withdrawal of up to 30 billion dollars of financial resources from Russia. The total GDP of Russia in 2016 amounted to 1.28 trillion. dollars.
In a prosperous US economy, the volume of the "shadow" is 10 percent of GDP. But in absolute terms, this is a huge figure of more than 2 trillion. dollars!

It is probably not possible to completely eliminate the concealment of income even in developed countries. The task of the state is to make its influence minimal, to prevent a weakening of the management system and a decrease in the level of budget financing.

Informative literature on the shadow economy

2. Textbook on the shadow economy, edited by Latov Yu.V.

3. Article "Legalization of income as a way to combat the shadow economy." Journal "Tax Policy and Practice" No. 6, 2010

Some aspects of the shadow economy

The Republic of Kazakhstan is going through a difficult period in its history, characterized by an unprecedented process of radical reform of the political and economic system.

Real results of economic reforms have been achieved: a market infrastructure and market mechanisms for stimulating production have been practically formed, such a phenomenon as a shortage of goods has been eliminated in economic life, and a positive balance of foreign trade is constantly being ensured.

At the same time, the formation of a market economy brought to life a number of negative phenomena and processes. One of them is the development of shadow economic activity, the impact of which on the country's economy is significant, as well as on economic security states.

Firstly, the shadow economy has acquired a large share, has become a sector of the economy, and the dominant one, where informal and extra-legal relations play a huge role.

Secondly, in the economic sphere, shadow financial groups were formed, which are economic structures that have various government bodies as patrons, manage large capital, and conduct large-scale entrepreneurial (primarily commercial) activities.

Currently, a single generally accepted universal concept of the shadow economy has not been formulated. This concept is different in different countries, and is interpreted differently by different authors.

Even the set of terms used to denote the concept of the shadow economy is very wide: “informal”, “underwater”, “underground”, “hidden”, “underground”, “unofficial”, etc.

Such a variety of terms indicates the lack of knowledge of this problem, the unstable conceptual apparatus and is due to differences in the nature of the theoretical and applied problems being solved, as well as in the methodology and methodology of research.

At the present stage, there are three main conceptual approaches to the definition of the shadow economy (their characteristics are given in Table 1):

- legal;
- economic;
- economic and legal.

For analytical purposes, it is advisable to identify several criteria that can be used to classify the shadow economy:

- by subjects of the shadow economy (sources of origin, types of economic activity);
- according to the main goals and motives of shadow activities;
- by the scale of the damage caused to society;
- according to the degree of responsibility of the state for the existence of this type of shadow economy;
- by the nature of society's attitude to this type of shadow economy.

Table 1 Characteristics of conceptual approaches

Approaches	Characteristic
Legal	The key criterion for highlighting shadow economic phenomena here is the attitude towards the regulatory system. Specific criteria are: - evasion of official registration; - illegal nature of the activity.
economic	There are three directions: - quasi-economic direction. In this direction, an attempt was made to determine the content of the shadow economy from a class position. However, one theoretical point has arisen that prevents the public from recognizing a quasi-economic direction in the interpretation of the concept of "shadow economy". The fact is that the shadow economy exists in all countries of the world. It is noteworthy to the conditions of developed countries with a market economy - the political-economic approach to the interpretation of its content did not work at all. This means that this direction does not take into account the essentially general, which should be inherent in the shadow economy in all forms of its manifestation - the statistical approach. The main criterion for singling out shadow economic relations is their unaccountability, i.e. lack of fixation by official statistics. The advantage of the statistical approach is the possibility of its effective use for identifying the productive sectors of the shadow economy, assessing their scale and taking them into account when developing the economic and legal policy of the state; - a truly economic approach. The key criterion is the specificity of the results of shadow economic activity, i.e. includes all activities that are negative, destructive and harmful to society and its members.
Economic and legal	The destructive nature of economic activity acts as a key criterion for the shadow economy. Applied to community development destructive economy can be defined as a sector of the economy that destroys or hinders (violates) the normal development of man, social systems of nature. The destructive economy has negative impact to public systems. It destroys or slows down the development of productive forces and production relations through theft, theft, and so on. A destructive economy destroys the law, state institutions.

Forms of the shadow economy can also be classified according to the areas of economic activity:

a) in the field of production there are:

- falsification of products;
- going offshore;
- transfer of profit abroad;
- artificial bankruptcy;
- bribing officials to obtain government orders;
- barter deals;
- use of labor of illegal migrants;
- delays in wages;

b) in the field of trade:

- sale of falsified products;
- smuggling;
- collusion with customs services;
- shuttle trade.

c) in the financial and credit sphere:

- financial pyramids;
- laundering "dirty" money;
- financial operations under the auspices of various non-profit foundations.

d) in the service sector:

- one-day firms;
- the so-called consulting services.

e) in the field of healthcare:

- an unspoken alliance between pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions;
- illegal paid services.

The Swiss economist Dieter Kassel identifies three positive functions of the shadow economy in the market economy:

1) "economic lubricant"- smoothing out fluctuations in the economic situation by redistributing resources between the legal and shadow economies (when the legal economy is in crisis, production resources do not disappear, but overflow into the “shadow”, returning to the legal after the crisis is over);

2) "social shock absorber"- mitigation of undesirable social contradictions (in particular, informal employment facilitates financial situation the poor);

3) "built-in stabilizer"- the shadow economy feeds the legal sector with its resources (unofficial income is used to purchase goods and services in the legal sector, "laundered" criminal capital is taxed, etc.).

However, in general, the impact of the shadow economy on society is rather negative than positive, since, on the one hand, it destroys the system of centralized management of the economy associated with the replenishment of the state treasury, and, on the other hand, creates problems of a socio-economic nature. Finally, the development of any form of shadow economy leads to the undermining of economic ethics.

The ratio of positive and negative effects of the shadow economy depends on its scale. This dependence is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows the importance of controlling the size of the shadow economy. Public welfare is maximized if the size of the shadow economy is equal to 0A, since the resulting effect has the most positive value.

As a last resort, it is possible to allow the growth of the shadow economy to the value of 0V, when the positive and negative effects are mutually extinguished. If the size of the shadow economy exceeds 0B, then society incurs net losses.

The methodology for statistical assessment of the shadow economy, based on the initial principles of the system of national accounts, which determine the system of indicators and classifications, the initial principles of statistical measurements of the shadow economy and information capabilities, makes it possible to choose specific approaches, tools and methods for calculating indicators that reflect different aspects of the shadow economic activity. To calculate the size of the shadow economy, there are direct and indirect methods, which are shown in Figure 2.

Direct methods for assessing the shadow economy involve additional sample surveys or the use of administrative sources in order to clarify the participation of households, individuals and enterprises in the formation of the shadow business.

Indirect methods involve additional additional calculations based on the use of circumstantial evidence established by in-depth study available information base on all aspects of the studied economic phenomenon.

One of the direct methods is the method of calculating the size of the shadow economy by electricity consumption. Electricity is a necessary product both in the official and in the shadow economy, so some of it is consumed to produce the shadow GDP.

Based on the ratio of electricity consumption to GDP produced in the base period as a constant value, the forecast GDP in the study period is calculated. real difference
of the forecast GDP and the forecast one shows the conditional GDP produced in the shadow economy.

The method for calculating the size of the shadow economy by electricity consumption is presented in Table 2.

Table 2 shows that there is an increase in electricity consumption per year from 54.4 billion kWh in 2000 to 56.8 billion kWh in 2001. At the same time, there is an increase in GDP produced in the shadow economy, in 2.3 times compared to 2000, and, accordingly, the share of the shadow economy is almost 2 times. In 2003

the growth of the shadow economy in the country continues: 1.5 times compared to 2001 and 1.2 times compared to 2002. However, in 2004, the share of the shadow sector of the economy decreased by 0.5 times compared to 2003 and is 22.7% of GDP. In 2005, the growth of the shadow economy continues.

This increase was affected by an increase in electricity consumption by 1.03 times, as well as GDP generated in the shadow economy - by 1.5 times.

Thus, the shadow economy is currently one of the main problems in our country, because it is becoming systemic, influencing the solution of many socio-economic problems.

Therefore, the problems of shadow business today are the subject of study by economists, lawyers, sociologists, and public figures.

Countering the growth of the shadow economy, which threatens the national security of Kazakhstan, should cover all levels of economic management, permeate the relationship between society, the state and the economy as a whole and become the subject of scientific research.

Bibliography

Latov Yu.V., Kovalev S.N. Shadow economy: Tutorial for universities / Ed. Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Doctor of Law V.Ya.Kikotya; Doctor of Economics, prof. G.M.Kaziakhmedova. - M.: Norma, 2006. - 36 p.
Popov Yu.N., TarasovME. Shadow economy in the market economy: Textbook. - Delo, 2005. - 240 p.
Golovanov NM, Perekislov VE, Fadeev VA Shadow economy and money laundering. - St. Petersburg: Peter,
- 303 s
Ryabushkin B.T., Churilova E.Yu. Methods for assessing the shadow and informal sector of the economy. - M.: Finance and statistics, 2003. - 144 p.
Statistical Yearbook of Kazakhstan: Statistical Compendium / Under. ed. K.S. Abdieva. - Almaty: Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Statistics, 2005.
Statistical Yearbook of Kazakhstan: Statistical Compendium / Under. ed. K.S. Abdieva.
Almaty: Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Statistics, 2006.

J.O. Zhilbaev, Zh.Zh. Nauryzbay, L.S. Syrymbetova, 2016

Shadow economy. Inside view

After all, Prokhorov said: "money - they are two-story now."

Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn. Gulag archipelago.

A front company without contracts and dates, and you are a traitor, brother, if you are not ready to live like this.

Many of our friends and acquaintances, like a considerable part of the Russian population, are employed in the shadow segment of the economy of our country. The shadow sector can exist in various forms.

It manifests itself in salaries in envelopes, undeclared and deducted from taxation income, concealment of turnover and the true size of the business.

Bribes at customs, tax and labor inspectorates, the prosecutor's office and other authorities are also included in the shadow economy.

A lot has been written about the current situation in Russia with the shadow sector: in the media, in scientific papers, and on TV by officials and politicians. Therefore, in addition to identifying any general trends, I, as the author, will allow myself to consider private specifics, while our reader will not lose in understanding the problem.

Nature and causes of occurrence

Three whales of the shadow economy: the state, the entrepreneur, the worker.

State.

The significant volume of the shadow sector in Russia is one of the main evidences of the low quality of public administration, the low level of public and business trust in the state. "The system of tightening the screws", a high level of state regulation, red tape, tougher sanctions and prohibitions - all these are the features of today's Russian state facilitating the departure of the business "into the shadows".

Separately, it should be noted that the excessive bureaucracy of the business environment, state intervention in the economy and corruption are an extremely favorable environment for the development of the shadow economy.

The researchers also note that "administrative and legal barriers hinder economic potential, lead to increased costs, create an unstable financial situation, and reduce access to resources." Even now, in modern Russia, some state structures retain the worst vestiges of the socialist system (one of the examples is the poor quality of the organization of work in tax offices, queues).

The unpredictability of our state, the indefatigable fiscal appetite, even without a hint of optimizing government spending, without the hope of redirecting financial flows to the development of human capital, also plays a big role in the fear of business about coming out of the shadows.

Economic policy. State and business.

Profitability of long-term investments. A high level of the reserve rate is one of the main factors in freezing investments in the real sector: it is difficult to find and implement a project whose profitability will be higher than the price of capital (in this case, a bank loan). This situation, coupled with macroeconomic instability, leads to the spread of the so-called business environment. “short-term moods”: it is better to get some, but today, because who knows what will happen tomorrow.

This again affects the departure of financial resources to the gray sector with higher profitability. Hence the widespread practice of tax evasion, the use of one-day firms.

The phenomenon of such firms should not be taken literally, “one-day firms” - organizations that exist, as a rule, from a year to three years, as a result of which their activities do not have time to be routinely checked by the tax authorities (Yes, and the tax authorities would rather be happy to “milk” than to understand according to the law, such is the nature of the modern bureaucratic-Chekist state).

As a result, the low level of technology, insufficient investment opportunities become factors for the extensive growth of companies, their expansion into the shadow sector.

General tax burden. Based on KPMG analytics, in 2015 the indirect tax (VAT) in Russia amounted to 18%, the European average (EU and Eastern Europe) - 20.19%, income tax 13% and 32.19%, respectively, social contributions from 0% employee in Russia and 12.6% on average in Europe, contributions paid by the employer, 32.6% (an average figure, apparently taking into account IP) and 22.85% - Europe.

It would seem that in Russia everything is not even so scary with the tax burden.

But here it should be noted that the payment of insurance premiums in Russia falls entirely on the shoulders of employers, and the volume and quality of social insurance services provided by the state makes even the proposal to share costs between employees and employers socially dangerous (first, do it, and only then we will We will pay for this - and rightfully so).

The position of employers is also influenced by the lack of legal ways to reduce contributions to off-budget funds, and the position of employees is affected by income tax (although the situation here is smoothed out by tax deductions).

The policy of the state regarding the size of insurance premiums is also unpredictable.

Therefore, in non-governmental organizations, the employer still quite often pays regularly, and the employee unquestioningly receives gray wages.

Population.

The loyal perception by workers of gray wages, informal employment and other forms of the shadow economy is strongly influenced by the low standard of living of the population, high unemployment, as well as the fact that in the minds of citizens tax payments are often associated with senseless extortions that will end up in the pockets of officials, and only some of them will go to really useful things and events for the whole society (when they are treated well, everyone is well - yes; when they teach well, everyone is well - yes; when they are well and imprisoned for nothing, everyone is well - no).

The consequences of going into the shadows

Often, businesses that evade taxes, and at the same time employees who receive gray salaries, are blamed for shortfalls in federal, and most importantly, local budgets tax revenue. And, as a result, the lack of funding for municipal health and education institutions: hospitals, schools, kindergartens (read like this: oh, I'm a lousy donkey, Kindergarten robbed).

Of course, tax evasion is an unethical thing, and I'm not going to whitewash it, but this does not in the least justify officials involved in the theft of millions and billions (tachographs, Serdyukov and Vasilyeva, Yakunin, the Chaek family and many others) - these are also schools, hospitals, kindergartens, neither built nor repaired. Even the collected taxes would have been quite enough to create a modern social infrastructure, if the budget "did not cut", fearing nothing: neither the people, nor the law.

As for the final distribution of national income between society, business and the state, which is obtained as a result of the functioning of the shadow sector, in the current system, whatever one may say, it is not in favor of the former.

As long as the sphere of public spending remains beyond the control of society, and fatalistic and erroneous sentiments are quite strong that corruption in Russia cannot be defeated, the employee will not make claims to the employer about non-payment of part of tax payments to the budget (many can remember how they themselves fell into this trap, and even if they made claims, the answer was that we already pay many millions of rubles to the state, much more, calm down and stay).

As a result, a vicious system of general silence is being formed: employees of state structures, who are regularly brought down, are silent, workers who are paid gray wages, but they have enough to live on, business is silent so that what they have is not squeezed out and imprisoned. The country of the dumb, God forgive me.

In this regard, the question is debatable: who should be the driver of change, the entrepreneurial community, capable of self-organization and more mobile, or the state, which, as a whole, has legislative, executive and judicial power.

The most expedient is the creation by the state of milder conditions for doing business and participating in political life entrepreneurs: let people talk, don’t put them in prison, don’t shut them up, and they themselves will say what needs to be reformed and how, there will be no stillborn self-regulatory organizations created on orders from above (the so-called SROs created without fail). But before finally turning to the consideration of measures to reduce the shadow sector, I consider it necessary to describe in more detail its impact on the construction of business processes in the company.

The specifics of business processes in the shadow sector

If we follow the classification established by the researchers, the holding, in one of the business units of which my friend works, belongs to the “shadow with connections” cluster, has access to relatively cheap sources of financing, the average size of the enterprise, established business ties and a built-in management hierarchy, about seven major shareholders receiving millions of dividends.

The cost structure is dominated by direct costs; in the structure of indirect costs, labor costs, rental payments, and expenses for supporting activities (yes, exactly the one we are talking about) have the largest share. For these purposes, there are several offshore companies and interlayer companies.

Offshores are also white and black (hello, yes, it happens, we ourselves were surprised to learn that one of the offshores in the EU must be white, without any exceptions). Each company, despite the infernal cumbersomeness of the accounting system in Russia, requires the maintenance of a staff of accountants (in fact, accountants are combined into functional groups and deal with one or another class of companies).

A funny nuance: accountants believe one thing, management accounting specialists - quite another.

At the same time, the gray sector of the Russian economy was also affected by the infection of total inefficiency, a considerable financial service (about 40 people) is engaged in work that could easily be dispensed with in a normal rule of law state.

Optimized, through fiscal schemes, VAT, income tax and social contributions. In addition, hiding real turnover is an important factor in reducing the risk of a raider takeover of a business.

There are some small cash payments, such as unaccounted for travel expenses in excess of the limit, errors in checks and primary documents that are not accepted for accounting, - here the strictness of the rules (RAS and Tax Code) does not leave the opportunity to carry out amounts in accounting, bureaucratic chicanery will find you everywhere.

The amount of bribes to customs, tax and other inspections and departments (directly or through proxies) is measured in tens of thousands of US dollars: 50 thousand dollars is the average amount of a bribe to a customs officer, and you can get 3 million rubles at a time if security is not monitored.

Illegal costs also include the costs of cashing income hidden from taxation, the percentage for this varies between 2-10%.

In the structure of expenditure items, we should mention the commission for conversion (this is generally a full-fledged process), servicing non-residents, commissions of intermediary banks.

It should come as no surprise that maintaining such structures is costly, and the worst part is that today in Russia it is still safer and more cost-effective than "pay your taxes and have nothing to sleep on."

It is difficult to talk about what exactly gives rise to this vicious circle, a system sharpened for profit and corruption, or a business that prefers to pay off, but not to break spears (after all, you will sit down again, what good).

While we burn with hope

Of course, you want everything, and at once, and for everyone, but this does not happen. We always have to work only with what is given to us, within the time allotted to us.

As large-scale steps to overcome the existing crisis, first of all, it is necessary to name the liberalization of the political and economic life of Russia.

The long-term goal of public policy should be to achieve macroeconomic stability and predictability of government actions.

As tactical measures, one should indicate such important points as the fight against corruption and the removal of barriers to business, tax cuts, simplification of the tax system.

And only when carrying out the above measures - toughening sanctions for deliberate tax evasion, concealment of income, informal hiring of labor, the criteria for falling under such sanctions should be clearly defined and not allow for ambiguous interpretation.

The liberalization of political life is one of the most important prerequisites for the development of a system of public control.

It is the latter that is able to become a “mediator” in the search for a balance between the interests of business and the state, since all three parts: the economy, politics and society, are inextricably linked and the creative development of society and the nation is possible only if a balance is maintained between them.

Only on the terms of mutually beneficial cooperation will socially responsible business in Russia develop more than it does today. This is a myth that Russians are not capable of mutual assistance and mutual support, everyone can refute this already on their own.

The liberalization of the economy and the reduction of administrative barriers stimulate market competition and reduce costs, including those associated with the tariffs of natural monopolies.

Reducing costs will lead to an increase in the profitability of both the real sector and white companies, regardless of the industry, an increase in labor productivity, and an increase in the standard of living of the population.

Yes, competition is not a completely herbivorous phenomenon, someone will close, someone will look for other niches.

One thing is clear - a change in the rules of the game, a complete rejection of behind-the-scenes rules in the direction of legality, openness and publicity will make it possible to realize the economic and creative potential of entrepreneurs, workers, civil servants - the entire society. Give us freedom, and we ourselves will take responsibility for it. You will not recognize Russia, someday we will become different.

Introduction

1. Definition of the shadow economy and the forms of its manifestation

1.1. The concept of the shadow economy and its components

2. Reasons for the emergence of the shadow economy

4. The influence of "shadow" structures on the economy

5. Structure of the shadow economy

6. Positive impact of the shadow economy

7. Fighting the shadow economy

Conclusion

introduction

The shadow economy is a very difficult subject to study. This is a phenomenon that is relatively easy to define, but impossible to accurately measure. almost all information that a scientist-economist manages to obtain is confidential and is not subject to disclosure.

The problem of the shadow economy, growing, covers all spheres of society. Indeed, it is practically impossible to find someone who would not come across this concept in practice, ranging from small (payment for the services of a tutor, doctors, etc.) to larger types of shadow activities (corruption, concealment of income on an especially large scale, tax evasion, etc.). d.).

The share and influence of the criminal sector in the economy has approached the line beyond which society is likely to lose control over the direction of socio-economic and political processes.

In the conditions of a criminalized economy, there is an increasing need for a comprehensive study of shadow, hidden from registration and illegal economic activities, both from the standpoint of criminology, forensic science, criminal law, and economic sciences.

The purpose of the report is to study and assess the situation of criminalization in the Russian economy and in the world, to highlight the scale of the shadow sector, the possibility of its impact on the economy as a whole and the regulatory and legal aspects of combating the criminalization of economic activity, as well as to study the impact of reform as an important factor influencing the economy and the impact that the shadow sector has on the economy as a whole.

1. Definition of the shadow economy and the forms of its manifestation.

1.1. The concept of the shadow economy and its components.

What is the shadow economy? There are a variety of answers to this question. An opinion is expressed that the shadow economy is an economic activity that is contrary to this legislation, that is, it is a set of illegal economic activities that fuel criminal offenses of varying severity.

And also, the shadow economy is understood as production, consumption, exchange and distribution of material goods that are not taken into account by official statistics and are not controlled by society.

shadow economy - all types of activities aimed at the formation or satisfaction of needs that cultivate various vices in a person.

Each of these points of view is correct in its own way and reflects, to one degree or another, the real processes observed in the economy. The main and most typical types of shadow economic activity are the following three blocks:

1. legal activity for the production of goods in households and those consumed by them, not subject to official registration and taxation (for example, agricultural production in subsidiary plots).

2.legitimate activities that are hidden or downplayed for the purpose of tax evasion, and also carried out without proper licenses. This type of shadow economic activity covers a significant part of the economy, ranging from large enterprises, firms, financial institutions and ending with the activities of small non-cooperative enterprises with informal employment (for example, temporary construction teams).

3. illegal activity, which is the production and distribution of goods and services prohibited by law (for example, the production and distribution of drugs, weapons, prostitution, smuggling), as well as activities that constitute the illegal receipt of income not related to the production of goods and services (for example, racketeering, fraud).

The State Statistics Committee of Russia takes into account in its calculations only the first two types of the shadow economy, that is, activities in households, as well as hidden and underestimated economic activities that increase the value of GDP. This part of the shadow economy can be called the informal economy.

At the same time, one can name a fairly large number of transactions with financial and non-financial assets that do not increase GDP, but are essentially economic. These are criminal acts, not related to the production of any goods and services, but leading to the redistribution of national wealth. As a rule, these actions are not voluntary on the part of one of the participants in the operation. This group of operations includes theft, robbery, fraud. These operations are not taken into account by the State Statistics Committee of Russia when calculating the volume of macroeconomic indicators, since they do not affect the value of GDP. But there is no reason not to include them in the shadow economy. This part of the shadow economy should be called the illicit economy.

Causes of the shadow economy

There are usually three groups of factors that contribute to the development of the shadow economy.

economy.

2.1. Economic forces:

· high taxes (on income, income tax, etc.);

restructuring of the spheres of economic activity (industrial and

agricultural production, services, trade);

The crisis of the financial system and the impact of its negative consequences on the economy

· imperfection of the privatization process;

· activities of unregistered economic structures.

2.2 Social factors:

low standard of living of the population, which contributes to the development of hidden species

economic activity;

a high level of unemployment and the orientation of part of the population to receive

income in any way;

· uneven distribution of gross domestic product.

2.3 Legal factors:

imperfection of the legislation;

Insufficient activity of law enforcement agencies to prevent

illegal and criminal economic activities;

· imperfection of the mechanism of coordination in the fight against economic crime.

The shadow economy generates a number of consequences that negatively affect

economy of the state as a whole. Here are just a few of those implications:

· The tax base is shrinking. As a result, the tax pressure on

legal sector of the economy.

· The competitiveness of the legal economy is decreasing. This in turn

encourages other economic structures to go into the shadows.

Uncontrolled large financial resources allow you to influence

state policy, the media and election campaigns at various levels. it

also contributes to the development of corruption.

· There is an outflow of capital abroad.

Increasing uncontrolled trade in low-quality goods and

goods dangerous to the consumer.

3. History of the shadow economy in Russia

Informal relations, not without the interest and participation of the authorities, "subtly" fit into the economic system throughout the years of the existence of the Soviet system. If necessary, they were used by the authorities for political purposes: in the 30s - in the form of a fight against the unexposed "fist"; in the 1960s and 1970s - with a "private trader", in the 80s - with "persons receiving unearned income", in the 90s - with new entrepreneurs - "cooperators". The owners of private farms were periodically considered a social evil, although for a long time the food fund in the country for many products was calculated and planned without taking into account the needs of the rural population. Thus, self-reliance was considered an informal attitude.

The income that counterparties of the shadow economy received in the system of administrative distribution of resources was very significant: 31.8 billion rubles. in 1975, 52.5 billion in 1980; 74.3 billion - in 1985, 55.3 billion rubles. in the first half of 1989

Among the shadow activities common in Soviet times were barter, unauthorized part-time work, unscheduled construction, the release of unaccounted for products in addition to planned targets, the launch of commercial circulation of material resources saved in excess of the official norms for the consumption of raw materials and materials, the provision of services for a fee or "by pull" , which should have been provided free of charge, bribes for admission to a university and for making any other decisions, foreign exchange transactions, etc.

In the 1970s - early 1980s. shadow activity in the USSR became an element of the socio-economic system, turned into an economic institution of Soviet society. In this capacity, it had a relatively stable social structure, within its framework people had a certain status and played specific social roles (“pushers”, market traders, apartment brokers, etc.). As a result, an economy was formed that was parallel to the official one, without which the latter would not exist in the 1970s-1980s. could no longer work properly.

In the era of perestroika, it was generally accepted that the shadow economy was a product of the peculiarities inherent in the Soviet system, defects that could be eliminated by liberalization and the introduction of private property as part of the “transition to the market”. Therefore, it was believed that as the country moved towards capitalism, the scale of the shadow economy would decrease, while the legal economy would increase.

The opposite happened. During the first years of reforms (1992 - 1994) the share of the shadow economy in GDP was approximately 9 - 10%, in 1995 - 20%, in 1996 - 23%.

By 2002, the share of the shadow economy was already 26.9% of GDP. At the same time, 41 thousand enterprises, half of the banks and more than 80% of joint ventures may have ties with organized criminal communities. Moreover, the shadow and legal activities are now so intertwined that it is often almost impossible to distinguish them from each other.

Thus, the shadow economy was such an "iron" formed economic institution of the Soviet society that it could not disappear overnight even under the most favorable conditions.

Hart's research gave impetus to the study of informal activities, its social and economic role. It became clear that informal economic activity is a universal phenomenon that can be found in countries of very different levels of development, including developed capitalist countries and countries with planned economies. At the same time, there are features in the components of economies of various types, which are determined by the level of economic development, the nature of the institutional environment, and the role of the state in regulating the economy.

"Informal" ("informal") activities - activities on a legal basis, but aimed at the production of goods and services to meet the own needs of households (for example, the implementation of individual construction on their own).

"Illegal" activity is associated with the implementation of a real labor process in an "illegal" enterprise, the products and services of which are in effective market demand.

The concept of "shadow economy" covers three relatively independent concepts, denoting three relevant sectors:

Usually there are three groups of factors that contribute to the development of the shadow economy.

1. Economic factors:

High taxes (on income, income tax, etc.);

Restructuring of the spheres of economic activity (industrial and agricultural production, services, trade);

The crisis of the financial system and the impact of its negative consequences on the economy as a whole;

Imperfection of the privatization process;

Activities of unregistered economic structures.

2. Social factors:

Low standard of living of the population, which contributes to the development of hidden types of economic activity;

High unemployment and the orientation of part of the population to earn income in any way;

Uneven distribution of gross domestic product.

3. Legal factors:

Imperfect legislation;

Insufficient activity of law enforcement structures to suppress illegal and criminal economic activities;

Imperfection of the coordination mechanism for combating economic crime.

The shadow economy generates a number of consequences that negatively affect the economy of the state as a whole. Here are just a few of those implications:

The resource provision of corruption is increasing, which leads to an increase in its scale.

Large uncontrolled financial resources make it possible to influence state policy, the media and election campaigns at various levels. It also contributes to the development of corruption.

There is an outflow of capital abroad. The uncontrolled trade in low-quality goods and goods dangerous for the consumer is expanding.

The formation of the modern "shadow" economy in Russia can be attributed to the late 60s - early 70s. It was at this time that a significant increase in the needs of the population caused the growth of speculation as the original form of illegal business. The main reasons for its development are the outstripping growth of income against the relatively low rates of commodity filling of the consumer market, state voluntarism in setting retail prices, which, as a rule, did not reflect the socially necessary labor costs for the production of goods, the system of natural distribution of material goods.

low degree of differentiation of the population according to the level of material prosperity;

lack of large cash savings for the majority of the population;

strict legislation and practice of law enforcement agencies;

mass consciousness, negatively perceiving circumvention of the law for selfish purposes;

limited inquiries of the population due to lack of information.

The stimulating factors include:

the growth of needs along with the growth of incomes among all segments of the population;

outpacing income dynamics in comparison with the growth of labor productivity, relatively low growth rates in the production of consumer goods and services;

the progressive growth of reliable savings among the population;

the growing desire to "reify" money as a way to save them from inflation;

containment of economic initiative, the departure of active entrepreneurs in the "shadow" business;