The Shadow Economy and Morals: A Note

Schlicht, Ekkehart (1985): The Shadow Economy and Morals: A Note. In: Gaertner, Wulf and Wenig, A. (eds.) : The economics of the shadow economy. Berlin: Springer. pp. 265-271

Abstract

If the established rules are obeyed spontaneously in an economy, this increases economic efficiency since the uncertainties, monitoring costs and incentive problems induced by opportunism can be avoided. Opportunism will be increasedby increasing the incentives for unlawful behaviour, however, and a slight increase in these incentives might cause a cumulative and self-nourishing breakdown of morals. The dangers of the growing shadow economy are louring here.

• Item Type: Book Section
• Keywords: shadow economy, business morality, critical mass, taxation, tax compliance
• Faculties: Economics > Chairs > Chair of Institutional Economics (closed); Economics
• Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 300 Social sciences, sociology and anthropology; 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics
• Place of Publication: Berlin
• Signature: UBM:0001/8 85-4358