THE UNDERGROUND ECONOMY* - A CHANCE FOR THE POOR?

As it is known in Romania, as well as in other transitional economies, the deepening of the social inequities has been accompanied by informal activities. The current paper attempts to reveal the existing relationships between the underground economy and poverty and the profile of the households involved in informal activities having in view the occupational status, the age, the educational level and the degree of dependency. The most affected by poverty are not exceeding 10 years of school household head of families, the households of farmers, unemployed persons, retirees and paradoxically, part of the households of self-employed workers. * (The author thanks for the financial support of the 1998-2000 ACE Phare Programme. The opinions expressed in this paper do not reflect those of the European Union specialists).