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Sticks or Carrots? Comparing Effectiveness of Government Shadow Economy Policies in Russia

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  • Alexander Libman

    (Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich and ICSID, National Research University Higher School of Economics)

  • Janis N. Kluge

Abstract

Which incentives have the strongest impact on the size of the shadow economy? Is it about government’s pressure against entrepreneurs operating in this sector, or is it about the benefits of legality? The goal of this paper is to explicitly contrast the role of sticks (court repressiveness) and carrots (financial aid to small and medium-sized firms) as factors determining the size of the shadow economy, using the case of the Russian taxi market. It uses a unique dataset of taxi licensing data from regional transport departments and indicators for taxi market demand to estimate the extent of informal business. When controlling for market demand, it finds a strong and robust positive effect of sanctions on the size of the official market, with higher repressiveness leading to a smaller shadow economy. In contrast, the effect of carrots was insignificant. The results suggest that the effectiveness of carrot policies is compromised when entrepreneurs operate informally to avoid dealing with corrupt bureaucrats and have low trust in the government.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander Libman & Janis N. Kluge, 2017. "Sticks or Carrots? Comparing Effectiveness of Government Shadow Economy Policies in Russia," Working Papers 364, Leibniz Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (Institute for East and Southeast European Studies).
    • Handle: RePEc:ost:wpaper:364
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    2. C Williams, Colin, 2021. "Tackling Unregistered Employment In European Regions: Towards A Variegated Policy Approach," UTMS Journal of Economics, University of Tourism and Management, Skopje, Macedonia, vol. 12(2), pages 104-122.
    3. Colin Williams, 2020. "Evaluating Public Administration Approaches towards Tax Non-Compliance in Europe," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, July.
    4. Grega Ferenc, 2022. "Schwarzarbeit in Ost­-, Westdeutschland und Slowenien – Ein Vergleich," ifo Dresden berichtet, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 29(06), pages 19-26, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    shadow economy; bureaucracy; corruption; development policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

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