Comprises papers presented during the annual Public Lecture Series held at Western Michigan University. Examines problems of measuring the size and volume of underground economic activity by using estimates of United States currency holdings abroad and the illegal drug market as examples. Looks at juvenile delinquency and tax evasion to determine how economic policy may effect criminal behaviour.
In this revelatory book, Sudhir Venkatesh takes us into Maquis Park, a poor black neighborhood on Chicago's Southside, to explore the desperate and remarkable ways in which a community survives. The result is a dramatic narrative of individuals at work, and a rich portrait of a community. But while excavating the efforts of men and women to generate a basic livelihood for themselves and their families, Off the Books offers a devastating critique of the entrenched poverty that we so often ignore in America, and reveals how the underground economy is an inevitable response to the ghetto's appalling isolation from the rest of the country.
This work examines America's growing underground economy--its size, nature, and economic effects. The study begins with a critical analysis of the various methods used for measuring the size of the underground economy in the United States. It then develops a definition of the underground economy which is consistent with our system of national accounts. A sector-by-sector approach is used to measure the actual size of this sub-economy and to estimate the labor force involved. Finally, the author explores the economic consequences for the general economy of significant underground economic activity--for example: tax evasion, economic efficiency, and cyclical aspects. This work will be of interest to scholars, students, and policy-makers in economics, economic policy, political science, and criminology.
Monograph which aims to measure the second economy of moonlighting in the USA and the relative importance of the black economy to a nation's economic well-being. Other countries dealt with are: United Kingdom, USSR, Italy, Norway, Colombia, Canada etc., all contributed by various authors.
From the back cover: The papers in this ground breaking book constitute a unique collection of information about the underground economy and how it is manifested in a variety of countries. Section One attempts to measure Canada's underground economic activity and provides a specific estimate of the impact that tax changes have on its size. It also looks at the problems of tax evasion and tax avoidance. Section Two deals with the size of the underground substance economy, the legal aspects of tlhe underground economy in the United States, and an asseeement of the economic activities of the Mafia. Section Three analyzes the underground economy abroad, specifically in the United States, Britain, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Russia and China. The fourth section returns to Canada and examines some policy implications of the underground economy. A survey detailed in Section One shows that a majority of Canadians believe that they do not receive enough benefits for the taxation they pay. Section Four offers a solution to the problem of tax evasion and underground economic activity; the adoption of user fees and user taxes.
Bringing together top international researchers this book provides a worldwide coverage of underground economic activities. It presents estimates of the underground economy for 145 countries - the most comprehensive ever undertaken; an in-depth examination of the underground economy for a select number of these countries; and an analysis of the public policy implications through an assessment of how various governments have attempted to address this issue. The book brings together the latest research on tax evasion, tax morale and other underlying factors that have so significantly influenced participation in the underground economy. It provides a comprehensive overview of the size and development of the underground economy, its major causes and motivations and its effects on the legitimate economy. In addition, it reviews recent public policy concerns by a number of countries and how they have responded with measures to curb these underground economic activities.
