地下経済概観(地下経済の研究,共同研究)
スポンサーリンク
概要
- 論文の詳細を見る
Although the underground economy is not officially recognized, it represents the true face of the economy. Its presence has an effect similar to that of a huge earthquake, in that it inspires the same survival instinct which urges us to flee the scene of disaster as quickly as possible, in order to avoid later tremors of the earth's crust, or having to secure free life. It is not a wise policy to oppress the substance of a thing by a superficiality. Furthermore, shouts of "Quickly arrest the villains, and bring them to justice," will do little to improve the situation since the powers that hold sway in the official and apparent political world are secretly attached to the underground economy behind the scenes. This fact is even more pronounced in countries run by dictators. The primary factor responsible for this thriving underground economy is the clandestine operation of human capital, i.e. secret maneuvers by people who make every attempt to maintain and develop their assets/stock through distribution of money, goods and services. The underground economy is also being encouraged by the increasing economic globalization, which has swept the world. In other words, whether the country concerned belongs to the capitalist bloc or the socialist bloc, all the people can associate themselves with the underground economy for personal gains through the distribution process of money, goods and service, and the more the official system is thrown into confusion or the world economy stagnates, the more the real economy of the world, the underground market, flourishes. In a recent trend, people have been more rapidly transferring money, goods and services from legitimate sources into the underground system in an attempt to protect their livelihoods. Circustances which have triggered off this response in the private sector are: 1) the economic growth rate has slowed down worldwide; 2) economies have shifted towards service and the software sector as a whole; 3) financial assets have expanded and diversified; 4) government and public sectors have enlarged too much (a global phenomenon); and 5) rapidly increased distrust of government because of its close conglutination and adhesion to the underground economy. Economic globalization has produced three types of underground systems in today's world. One of them is an international network of tax havens and off-shore havens, which are particularly popular around the USA and Britain. The second underground economy finds its strength in deep-rooted local economies based on private wealth and the actual thing markets of undeveloped and developing countries which have been plagued by endless setbacks and economic troubles. The third one is the underground economy of the socialist bloc, which is undergoing open door policy within their closed system. It is a unique underground economy as it complements the official economy and at the same time exploits the public. As for the methodology, various ways of computation have both merits and demerits, which must be complements the each of other. However, unlike the exactitude of the legal codes, statistical inference serves its purpose if it provides rough estimates. (Estimated values are a basis for discussion enabling us to grasp the power and scope of the underground economy, thus adding a second dimension to the commonly accepted or official economy.) Pin-point accuracy is not essential, but it is imperative to cover the grey zone which often gets overlooked when underground economy is measured. The estimates of Japan's hidden assets amounted to just over 16% of estimated personal financial assets at the end of 1985, while hidden income constituted 12.7% of the 1985 GNP. Seen in terms of the world at large, these figures can be considered as a indication of a margin of comfort and a healthy economy.
- 日本大学の論文
- 1987-03-20