The influence of the shadow economy on the integrity of the economic system from the position of national economic security

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to analyze the influence of the shadow economy on the integrity of the economic system from the standpoint of national economic security. Within the framework of this study, the author defined the concept of the shadow economy, described the difficulties associated with this definition. In this regard, the historical aspects of the development of the study of the shadow economy were described, the process of securing the shadow economy in the legal field in the USSR, as well as general methodological aspects in foreign practice, was considered. The author considered three main types of the shadow economy «gray or informal», «black or underground» and «white-collar». The author describes their distinctive features, and also identifies the differences between them in terms of their impact on the national economy. Despite the fact that the shadow economy is often regarded as a completely negative phenomenon, the author identified a number of manifestations of the stabilizing (positive) influence of the shadow economy on the population and its business climate. As the key mechanisms of influence of the shadow economy on the economic system, the author singled out a decrease in budget revenues and an increase in corruption. The work noted the strong negative role of corruption, which can have a significant impact on the economic security of the state and the integrity of the economic system. For a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon under consideration, the experience of foreign countries in the field of counteracting the shadow economy and reducing its impact on economic security was studied. The author examined cases related to the actions of the United States and Germany in the field of combating the shadow economy, from which the effectiveness of the use of regulatory instruments to reduce the shadow economy was revealed.