SWOT Analysis: Comparing and Evaluating Methods of Measuring Shadow Economy

This study evaluates and compares different methods of measuring shadow economy.Every methodology offers individual perspectives that often lead to divergent national rankings.The analysed methods include MIMIC, statistical discrepancies, monetary demand, electricity use, surveys and composite indicators.By applying a SWOT analysis, the strong and weak points for every method, were identified.This research focuses on the complexity of shadow economy and the inherent challenges in quantifying it.The study underlines the importance of improving the accuracy of these methods by including new data regarding digital transactions and sectorial indicators.The analysis proposes to offer a comprehensive understanding of the methods that best suit different research contexts.Also, the study wishes to inform about the decisional process in which economic policies are elaborated and implemented.Especially regarding tax evasion and conformity to regulations, the process can be positively or negatively influenced, depending on which national ranking is based.