The shadow economy absorbs critical resources from the formal economy and to a certain extent impedes the implementation of policies that are necessary for the common good. Its size varies and even exceeds one-fourth of gross domestic product (GDP) in certain European Union (EU) member states. Although some shadow economies may have beneficial effects for some citizens, or even the formal economy of a country, overall the shadow economy harms that country’s competitiveness as it reduces external parties’ trust in that country, and thus their likelihood to cooperate. On the other hand, competitiveness could offer incentives to bring underground operations to the surface and thus fight the undeclared economy. Using appropriate econometric approaches, this study finds evidence that the more competitive a member country of the EU is, with respect to the global competitiveness index, GDP per capita, exports as a percent of GDP and unemployment rate, the smaller its shadow economy (as a percent of GDP) becomes. More precisely, as anticipated, there is a negative relationship between the shadow economy and global competitiveness, GDP per capita and exports. There is a positive relationship between the shadow economy and unemployment. These results could assist relevant authorities in containing the shadow economy by appropriately steering the selected competitiveness drivers of the country.

影子经济从形式经济中吸收了关键资源，并在一定程度上阻碍了实现共同利益所必需的政策的实施。它的规模各不相同，甚至超过某些欧盟（EU）成员国的国内生产总值（GDP）的四分之一。尽管某些影子经济可能对某些公民甚至一国的正规经济产生有利影响，但总体而言，影子经济损害了该国的竞争力，因为它降低了外部各方对该国的信任，从而降低了他们进行合作的可能性。另一方面，竞争力可以提供诱因，使地下作业浮出水面，从而与未申报的经济作斗争。使用适当的计量经济学方法，本研究发现了证据，即欧盟成员国的竞争力越强，关于全球竞争力指数，人均GDP，出口占GDP的百分比和失业率，其影子经济（占GDP的百分比）越小。更确切地说，正如预期的那样，影子经济与全球竞争力，人均国内生产总值和出口之间存在负相关关系。影子经济与失业之间存在积极的关系。这些结果可通过适当引导该国选定的竞争力驱动因素，协助有关当局遏制影子经济。人均国内生产总值和出口。影子经济与失业之间存在积极的关系。这些结果可通过适当引导该国选定的竞争力驱动因素，协助有关当局遏制影子经济。人均国内生产总值和出口。影子经济与失业之间存在积极的关系。这些结果可通过适当引导该国选定的竞争力驱动因素，协助有关当局遏制影子经济。