Home – Home – Jornals – Scientific journal “Vestnik NSUEM” 2015 number 1

The article gives a broad definition of the shadow economy used in international practice. It is based on the main incentives of the shadow economic activities of business entities in countries with developed market economy: taxes and social security contributions, intensity of regulatory activities, public sector services. Shadow economy has its own peculiarities in Russia, where the economic system has undergone profound changes. Excessive tax burden and the redundant regulation of economic activities are listed among the main causes of the shadow economy. Moreover, it is noted that the level of the shadow economy is affected by the significant extent of the public sector in the economy, small enterprise development, mass migration, the opening of external markets, changes in labour relations towards higher informality, etc. In addition to the increasing scale, the shadow economic activities in Russia are characterised by the qualitative transformation of the functions of the informal sector and informal relations. The article highlights positive and negative aspects of the impact of the shadow economy on the socio-economic sphere of society. An extensive overview of literature on the topic is presented in the article.