This article aims at presenting the approach of national statistical institutes to the issue of the size of the shadow economy estimated in national accounts as a GDP component in the light of rapid changes in the global economy. The creation of value added and its market pricing are considered as criteria for inclusion activities to the shadow economy. Methodological problems like production boundaries, legal and illegal shadow economy activities were raised. Official statistics on the shadow economy were confronted with independent estimates. It is argued that the official estimates of the shadow economy should serve as the benchmark for experts from different disciplines of sciences interested in this phenomenon. The more elaborated economic theory of the shadow economy could diminish confusion over estimates of the shadow economy.
value added, shadow economy, national accounts, GDP, estimation methodology
E01, E26, C46
Blades, D. W. (1983). Crime: what should be included in the National Accounts and what difference would it make. Paris: OECD.
Central Statistical Office. (2016). National Accounts by Institutional Sectors and Sub-Sectors 2011—2014. Retrieved from: https://stat.gov.pl/files/gfx/portalinformacyjny/en/defaultaktualnosci/3300/2/9/1/national_accounts_by_institutional_sectors_and_sub_sectors_2011_2014.pdf.
Eurostat. (2013). European System of Accounts ESA 2010. Luxembourg: European Commission.
Feige, E. L. (1979). How Big Is the Irregular Economy? Challenge, 22(5), 5—13.
Fundowicz, J., Łapiński, K., Peterlik, M., Wyżnikiewicz, B. (2016). Szara strefa w polskiej gospodarce w 2016 roku. Warszawa: Instytut Badań nad Gospodarką Rynkową.
Gutmann, P. M. (1977). The Subterranean Economy. Financial Analysis Journal, 33(6), 26—34.
INSEE. (2009). Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/118025/118123/Fitoussi+Commission+report.
Portes, A., Castells, M., Benton, L. A., (eds.). (1989). The Informal Economy, Studies in Advanced and Less Developed Countries. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Schneider, F. (2015). Size and Development of the Shadow Economy of 31 European and 5 other OECD Countries from 2003 to 2012: Different Developments? Retrieved from: https://www.addletonacademicpublishers.com/search-in-jgme/2513-size-and-development-of-theshadow-economy-of-31-european-and-5-other-oecd-countries-from-2003-to-2014-different-developments.
Tanzi, V. (1980). The Underground Economy in the United States: Estimates and Implications. PSL Quarterly Review, 33(135), 427—453.
Wyżnikiewicz B. (1987). Druga gospodarka w rozwiniętych krajach kapitalistycznych. Wektory Gospodarki, (10).
