Determinanty stínové ekonomiky

Abstract

The main object of the dissertation thesis is to examine the impact of selected determinants of the shadow economy on the size of the shadow economy in 30 European countries. The aim of this work is to confirm or refute a statistically significant influence of selected determinants on the size of shadow economy in the selected European countries. Hypotheses testing is done by empirical estimation of a panel data linear regression model using data from 30 European countries over the period from 1999 to 2016. In the empirical part of the dissertation thesis, the fixed effects least squares method and the generalized method of moments were used. The results of my PhD dissertation show that a negative association between the shadow economy and an increasing country´s economic level, quality of the institutional environment, computerization of society and with decrease in the level of unemployment. These macroeconomic variables can be considered as the most significant determinants influencing the development of the shadow economy size across 30 selected European countries over the long time span. An important role in the development of the size of the shadow economy in the European economies is also played by overall level of official economy regulation, an average level of population´s education, a level of urbanization, household activity in crime reporting and total government spending on justice and court proceedings. For the other variables, the results are quite variable and the conclusions regarding to their impact on the size of the shadow economy will require another econometric analysis. The PhD dissertation provides new insights into the shadow economy research. The conclusions of this work can contribute to the expert debate, not only in the academic sphere.