Shadow economy as a threat to the economic security of Russia

Abstract

Introduction. The concealment of income and tax evasion have become a global problem. The globalisation of the economy and liberalisation of the international capital flow take shadow financial flows beyond the limits of a country making them globally important. The article is dedicated to the influence of the shadowing of the economy on the indicators of the country’s economic development. We put forward a hypothesis regarding the influence of the shadow economy on all the stages of production and redistribution of resources, a country’s financial stability and independence, and budget income. The article presents a comparative analysis of the country’s economic development dynamics and the level of shadowing of the economy. The purpose of the study is to elaborate the specific features of the notion of the “shadow economy” and to study comprehensively the thoroughness of the factor segmentation within the interrelation between shadow economy and economic security. Methodology. To achieve the desired objectives, we used the methods of analysis and synthesis, logic construction, and tabular and graphic methods of data presentation. To study the interrelation between the indicators of shadow economy and the level of economic security of the country, we used correlation analysis. Results. We compared the indicators of the development of shadow economy and individual indicators of economic security in Russia. Using correlation analysis, we established the level of correlation between the level of shadowing of the economy and the indicators of economic security. Conclusions. As a result of the study, the author determined the content of the notion of the “shadow economy” and identified the advantages of the presented characteristics. The correlation between shadow economy and economic security was justified. The conducted analysis indicated the presence of the influence of the shadowing of the economy on the level of GDP. The results of the calculations showed that there is a moderate or noticeable correlation between most indicators of economic security and the level of shadowing of the economy. The established dependencies can serve as the basis for the identification of the key vectors of the government policy for the control of shadowing and tools for influencing the most sensitive indicators of the country’s economic development.