Does regulatory discretion increase the unofficial economy? Evidence from panel data

One factor that contributes in the size of the shadow economy is the regulation of business activities. This paper provides empirical analysis of the effects of regulatory discretion on the unofficial economy. It adds to the previous findings by gathering evidence from a large data set of 162 countries for the 1999 to 2007 period. Going beyond simple correlation, it uses the Arellano-Bond estimator to investigate the dynamics and causal effects of regulation on the shadow economy. We find that increase in regulation increases the size of the shadow economy.