IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i19p8286-d1484241.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Advances in Economic Development through Control of the Underground Economy

Author

Listed:
  • Sorina Emanuela Ștefoni

    (Department of Finance, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010961 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Iulian Viorel Brașoveanu

    (Department of Finance, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010961 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Nicoleta Cristache

    (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, 800008 Galati, Romania)

Abstract

In an era of ongoing global development and increasing focus on sustainability, the underground economy persistently identifies novel areas for expansion. This dynamic growth compels states to engage in an ongoing search for effective strategies to regulate and mitigate its effects, while simultaneously addressing the broader implications for economic development. Poverty, financial development, income inequality, and legal framework are analyzed in this paper in relation to the underground economy for the European Union member states between 2004 and 2022 by way of a panel model. Our findings reveal a positive relationship between the levels of poverty among individuals and the underground economy. Conversely, the interplay between the underground economy and both financial development and the legal framework exhibits a detrimental effect. In conclusion, our analysis reveals that the three primary variables examined—poverty, financial development, and legal framework—substantially influence the scale of the underground economy, with important implications for overall economic development and sustainable growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Sorina Emanuela Ștefoni & Iulian Viorel Brașoveanu & Nicoleta Cristache, 2024. "Advances in Economic Development through Control of the Underground Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-12, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:19:p:8286-:d:1484241
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8286/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8286/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Luc Jacolin & Massil Keneck & Alphonse Noah, 2019. "Informal Sector and Mobile Financial Services in Developing Countries: Does Financial Innovation Matter?," Working papers 721, Banque de France.
    2. Leandro Medina & Mr. Friedrich Schneider, 2018. "Shadow Economies Around the World: What Did We Learn Over the Last 20 Years?," IMF Working Papers 2018/017, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Saha, Shrabani & Beladi, Hamid & Kar, Saibal, 2021. "Corruption control, shadow economy and income inequality: Evidence from Asia," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(2).
    4. Cheng Hsiao, 2007. "Panel data analysis—advantages and challenges," TEST: An Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Statistics and Operations Research, Springer;Sociedad de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, vol. 16(1), pages 1-22, May.
    5. Canh, Nguyen Phuc & Thanh, Su Dinh, 2020. "Financial development and the shadow economy: A multi-dimensional analysis," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 37-54.
    6. Mr. Adolfo Barajas & Thorsten Beck & Ms. Era Dabla-Norris & Mr. Seyed Reza Yousefi, 2013. "Too Cold, Too Hot, or Just Right? Assessing Financial Sector Development Across the Globe," IMF Working Papers 2013/081, International Monetary Fund.
    7. J. Barkley Rosser Jr & Marina V. Rosser & Ehsan Ahmed, 2003. "Multiple unofficial economy equilibria and income distribution dynamics in systemic transition," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 425-447.
    8. Nili, Masoud & Rastad, Mahdi, 2007. "Addressing the growth failure of the oil economies: The role of financial development," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(5), pages 726-740, February.
    9. Aziz N. Berdiev & James W. Saunoris & Friedrich Schneider, 2020. "Poverty and the shadow economy: The role of governmental institutions," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 921-947, April.
    10. Cheng Hsiao, 2007. "Rejoinder on: Panel data analysis—advantages and challenges," TEST: An Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Statistics and Operations Research, Springer;Sociedad de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, vol. 16(1), pages 56-57, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Huafei Yan & Xiaobei Li & Yingting Qin, 2025. "Exploring Digital-Driven Pathways for Green and Low-Carbon Development: A Survey of Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-25, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marã­A Paula Vargas & Erick Lahura, 2022. "Financial Development, Financial Inclusion And Informality: New International Evidence," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(03), pages 1-42, September.
    2. Kamal Lahlou & Hicham Doghmi & Friedrich Schneider, 2020. "The Size and Development of the Shadow Economy in Morocco," Document de travail 2020-3, Bank Al-Maghrib, Département de la Recherche.
    3. Ridwan, Lanre Ibrahim & Ajide, Kazeem Bello & Cifuentes-Faura, Javier & Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh, 2024. "Shadow economy implications of financial development in Africa: Do income groups also matter?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    4. Jakhongir Kakhkharov & Nicholas Rohde, 2023. "Remittance flows and informal economies in post‐Soviet transition countries," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(10), pages 3057-3080, October.
    5. Mohammed Nayel Abu Alfoul & Ibrahim Naser Khatatbeh & Fouad Jamaani, 2022. "What Determines the Shadow Economy? An Extreme Bounds Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-22, May.
    6. Christopher Dick-Sagoe & Ernest Ngeh Tingum & Peter Asare-Nuamah & Denis N. Yuni & Nicholas Baidoo, 2025. "Central transfers and incentives to collect local revenue among the Central Region of Ghana’s local government officials: analysing the flypaper effect," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Hany Eldemerdash & Hugh Metcalf & Sara Maioli, 2014. "Twin deficits: new evidence from a developing (oil vs. non-oil) countries’ perspective," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 825-851, November.
    8. Ding Luo & Oded Cats & Hans Lint, 2020. "Can passenger flow distribution be estimated solely based on network properties in public transport systems?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 2757-2776, December.
    9. Li, Larry & McMurray, Adela & Sy, Malick & Xue, Jinjun, 2018. "Corporate ownership, efficiency and performance under state capitalism: Evidence from China," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 747-766.
    10. Dzintra Atstāja & Edmira Cakrani, 2024. "Impact of Climate Change on International Tourism Evidence from Baltic Sea Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-16, June.
    11. Lynn, Peter & Bosch, Oriol, 2021. "Methodological lessons from the pilot longitudinal survey on debt advice," ISER Working Paper Series 2021-03, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    12. Yasser Razak Hussain & Pranab Mukhopadhyay, 2023. "How Much do Education, Experience, and Social Networks Impact Earnings in India? A Panel Data Analysis Disaggregated by Class, Gender, Caste and Religion," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    13. Trabelsi, Emna & Hichri, Walid, 2021. "Central Bank Transparency with (semi-)public Information: Laboratory Experiments," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    14. Ada Aliaj & Rovena Vangjel, 2023. "Financial Development and Its Impact on the Shadow Economy in Albania," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 12, May.
    15. Faisal Faisal & Aliya Zhakanova Isiksal & Ala Fathi Assi & Adnan Ali & Hamid Ghazi H Sulimany, 2025. "Financial risk, sustainable development, natural resources and green finance: unveiling the shadow economy in the BRICST countries," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 38(2), pages 397-412, June.
    16. Noor Zainab.Tunggal & Shariff Umar Shariff Abd. Kadir & Venus-Khim Sen Liew, 2018. "Panel Analysis of Monetary Model of ASEAN-5 Exchange Rates," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(11), pages 1-7, November.
    17. Wanglin Ma & Kathryn Bicknell & Alan Renwick, 2019. "Feed use intensification and technical efficiency of dairy farms in New Zealand," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 63(1), pages 20-38, January.
    18. Martey, Edward & Etwire, Prince Maxwell & Abdoulaye, Tahirou, 2020. "Welfare impacts of climate-smart agriculture in Ghana: Does row planting and drought-tolerant maize varieties matter?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    19. Wenhao Song & Chunhui Ye & Yuheng Liu & Weisong Cheng, 2021. "Do China’s Urban–Environmental Quality and Economic Growth Conform to the Environmental Kuznets Curve?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-15, December.
    20. Canh Phuc Nguyen & Christophe Schinckus & Quang Binh Nguyen & Duyen Thuy Le Tran, 2024. "Digitalization and informal economy: a global evidence of internet usage," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 51(1), pages 1-37, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:19:p:8286-:d:1484241. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.