This paper reviews the meaning and measurement of unobserved economies germane to tax evasion and macroeconomic information systems. These include the unreported, non-observed, underground, illegal, informal and unrecorded economies. It reviews the progress and shortcomings of national and...

This paper shows why some countries are trapped in an equilibrium with high unofficial economic activity and corruption while other countries are not. The potential for different outcomes follows directly from the complementary nature of unofficial economy and corruption activity

Given that 60 per cent of the global workforce is in the informal sector, this article develops a typology that classifies economies according to, firstly, where different countries sit on a continuum of informalization and, secondly, the character of their informal sectors. This is then applied...