Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/55871 
Year of Publication: 
2012
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 3749
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
In this paper we analyze the influence of direct democratic institutions on the size and development of the shadow economies. The framework developed predicts a negative relationship between the degree of direct democracy and the size of the shadow economy. Countries where direct democratic institutions support democratic life are expected to be characterized by a lower informal sector, ceteris paribus. The empirical / econometric investigation of a sample of 56 democracies confirms our core hypothesis and demonstrates that the effect of direct democratic institutions on the shadow economy is negative and quantitatively important; the results are robust and also depend on the interaction of direct democracy with other political institutions, such as district magnitude.
Subjects: 
shadow economy
direct democratic institutions
district magnitude
good governance
JEL: 
O17
D78
H11
H26
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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