Papers of BAS

Abstracting / Indexing

Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences

Vol. 11, 2024, No. 1

Bulgarians and the shadow economy:

Psychological attitudes and actual inclusion

Emilia Chengelova

Abstract. The subject of this article is an analysis of the latest data on the psycholog- ical willingness of Bulgarians to take part in shadow economy practices, and their actual participation in such practices. The data are drawn from a nationally representative survey conducted in 2021 among the Bulgarian population aged 15+ years. The analysis shows a relatively high psychological willingness to take part in the “shadow economy”. Two types of violations of labour and social insurance law are found to be most frequent: working without an employment contract and work under a fictitious contract, whereby the employee is socially insured on a lesser remuneration but is paid the difference in untaxed cash - “money in envelope”. Around one third of Bulgarians are found to be economic deviants (they violate laws and regulations), while the behaviour of the other two thirds is characterized by economic conformism (they obey the laws and rules). In this context, the question of mastering the shadow economy looms large and requires deeper public debate, in which the emphasis should be on designing effective policies and measures for reducing shadow practices in the Bulgarian economy.

Keywords: shadow economy, shadow economy practices, labour-law relationships, public opinion


Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences

Vol. 6, 2019, No. 1

Unmasking the stereotypes used to rationalize

the “shadow economy”

Emilia Chengelova

Abstract. Based on abundant empirical data from a nationally representative sample survey and on relevant statistical-mathematical processing of these data, the article demonstrates that the stereotypes used to rationalize the “shadow economy” are immanent to public opinion on this problem. Intricately entwined in the tissue of public attitudes, moods and assessments, these stereotypes assume values that take on a life of their own. Deeply permeating the way of thinking of Bulgarians today, they are perceived as reference models of the attitude to shady economic practices. The stereotypes used to rationalize the shadow economy serve precisely as the value-normative basis of the high tolerance that Bulgarians show for such practices.

Keywords: shadow economy, deviant behaviour, societies in transition, anomie, public opinion


Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences

Vol. 1, No. 1, 2014

SOCIOLOGY

A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO SOCIAL SURVEY RESEARCH ON THE “SHADOW ECONOMY”

Emilia Chengelova

Abstract. The measurement of economic activities performed in violation or disregard of formal regulations has been the object of increased research interest in the last twenty years. This field of study is many-sided and has been illuminated to various degrees, but scholarly efforts have ultimately been aimed at establishing the relative share of shady activities within the official economy.

This article offers a brief overview of the methods that have so far been applied within the frameworks of various paradigmatic approaches for the study and explanation of shady economic practices in Europe and the world. The author traces the episte­mological and instrumental particularities of applying the sociological approach to the study of this category of economic activities. The article presents and grounds an original methodology for research on the “shadow economy” in referring to the experience of a Bulgarian research team working on measuring non-legitimate economic activities. The article argues that, due to the complex and internally contradictory nature of informal economic activities, their study requires the application of a holistic methodological approach. After applying this research strategy, the general conclusion is that the study of the shadow economy using sociological methods is expedient and constructive from a methodological point of view, both in epistemological terms and as regards the possibility it affords to construct and correct the national policies.

Keywords: JEL: E26, O17, D73