Alternative approaches to the assessment of the shadow economy in Russia

The article describes the various methods of calculating the level of shadow economy, used in different countries, marks their positive and negative sides. The author reveals disadvantages of MIMIC-modelling used by the World Bank in assessing the level of shadow economy, as well as the methods used by the State Committee on Statistics of the Russian Federation. The main shortcomings of the commonly used system for assessing the level of the shadow economy are stated in the article. The author pays special attention to the construction of international rating and proves that its structure is incorrect. The author carries out the analysis of statistical data of the CIS Statistical Committee, the State Statistics Committee of Russia and the World Bank. The author adjusts the data on the level of shadow economy in Russia and some foreign countries by a coefficient calculated on the basis of shares of the constituent elements of shadow economy as a part of the unobserved. The data allowed to note the positive dynamics of European countries in the fight against the shadow economy and the lack of such dynamics in Russia, as well as to conclude on the need of RF to apply the economic policy measures used in Europe in respect of the shadow economy.