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Measuring the Shadow Economy with the Currency Demand Approach - A Reinterpretation of the methodology, with an application to Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Guerino Ardizzi

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Carmelo Petraglia

    (University of Napoli Federico II)

  • Massimiliano Piacenza

    (Department of Economics and Public Finance "G. Prato", University of Torino)

  • Gilberto Turati

    (Department of Economics and Public Finance "G. Prato", University of Torino)

Abstract

We contribute to the debate on how to assess the size of the shadow economy by proposing a reinterpretation of the traditional Currency Demand Approach (CDA) a là Tanzi. In particular, we introduce three main innovations. First, we take a direct measure of cash transactions (the flow of cash withdrawn from bank accounts relative to total noncash payments) as the dependent variable in the money demand equation. This allows us to avoid using the Fisher equation, overcoming two severe critiques to the traditional CDA. Second, we include among covariates two distinct measures of 'detected' tax evasion, in place of the tax burden level. Finally, we control also for a new 'criminal' component of the shadow economy, considering money demand for illegal activities like drug dealing and prostitution. We propose an application of this 'modified-CDA' to a panel of 91 Italian provinces for the years 2005-2008.

Suggested Citation

  • Guerino Ardizzi & Carmelo Petraglia & Massimiliano Piacenza & Gilberto Turati, 2011. "Measuring the Shadow Economy with the Currency Demand Approach - A Reinterpretation of the methodology, with an application to Italy," Working papers 22, Former Department of Economics and Public Finance "G. Prato", University of Torino.
    • Handle: RePEc:tur:wpaper:22
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    8. Torgler, Benno & Schneider, Friedrich, 2009. "The impact of tax morale and institutional quality on the shadow economy," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 228-245, April.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Stefan Petranov & Dimitar Zlatinov & Ilia Atanasov, 2022. "The Shadow Economy in Bulgaria During the Period 2006-2019," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 5, pages 3-18.
    3. Anna Kireenko & Yuriy Ivanov & Ekaterina Nevzorova & Olga Polyakova, 2017. "Shadow Economy in the Regions of the Russian Federation and the Ukraine," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: David Procházka (ed.), New Trends in Finance and Accounting, chapter 0, pages 301-312, Springer.
    4. Khurrum S. Mughal & Friedrich G. Schneider & Zafar Hayat, 2020. "Intensity of Regulations as a Cause of the Informal Sector," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 15(2), pages 135-154, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Shadow economy; Currency demand approach; Cash transactions; Evasion; Crime;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E26 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Informal Economy; Underground Economy
    • E41 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Demand for Money
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

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