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The “Dark Side” of Deregulation: How Competition Affects the Size of the Shadow Economy

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  • LILIANE KARLINGER

Abstract

This paper builds a theory that explains the dramatic expansion of the underground economy in the late 1990s by the sharp increase in market competition worldwide. I model an oligopoly game where firms first decide on entry and sector, and then compete in price. Operating in the underground sector reduces variable costs, but comes at the risk of being detected and fined. As competition intensifies (i.e., as consumers become more and more price-sensitive), underground firms attract more demand, thus stealing business and profits from official firms. As a consequence, more firms enter the underground economy. A lenient policy toward the underground economy may increase welfare when markups are high, but will be welfare-detrimental when markups are low.

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  • Liliane Karlinger, 2014. "The “Dark Side” of Deregulation: How Competition Affects the Size of the Shadow Economy," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 16(2), pages 293-321, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jpbect:v:16:y:2014:i:2:p:293-321
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Johnson, Simon & Kaufmann, Daniel & Zoido-Lobaton, Pablo, 1998. "Regulatory Discretion and the Unofficial Economy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 387-392, May.
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    9. Karlinger, Liliane, 2009. "The Underground Economy in the Late 1990s: Evading Taxes, or Evading Competition?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 1600-1611, October.
    10. Dominik H. Enste & Friedrich Schneider, 2000. "Shadow Economies: Size, Causes, and Consequences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 77-114, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Larissa Batrancea & Anca Nichita & Ioan Batrancea & Lucian Gaban, 2018. "The Strenght of the Relationship Between Shadow Economy and Corruption: Evidence from a Worldwide Country-Sample," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 1119-1143, August.
    2. Colin C. Williams, 2014. "Confronting the Shadow Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15370.
    3. Gokalp, Omer N. & Lee, Seung-Hyun & Peng, Mike W., 2017. "Competition and corporate tax evasion: An institution-based view," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 258-269.
    4. Colin C. Williams & Friedrich Schneider, 2016. "Measuring the Global Shadow Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 16551.

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