The scale of the Russian shadow economy in modern realities

Abstract

The essence of the shadow economy is considered, the main causes of its occurrence, including those formed in the conditions of digitalization of the economy, the negative consequences of its influence on the economic development of the country are named. Special attention is paid to the Russian shadow economy. The study analyzed the dynamics of the number of people employed in the informal sector and the unemployment rate, as well as the volume of questionable transactions in the banking sector, which revealed some patterns. The sectors of the economy that form the demand for shadow services are considered. The problem of the shadow economy in the regions is touched upon separately. Together, this allowed us to form a general idea of the scale of the Russian shadow economy and propose measures to combat this phenomenon.

Keywords

• shadow sector
• informal employment
• digital transformation
• pandemic
• unemployment
• questionable operations