Bulgarians and the shadow economy: Psychological attitudes and actual inclusion
Bulgarians and the shadow economy: Psychological attitudes and actual inclusion

Summary/Abstract: The subject of this article is an analysis of the latest data on the psychological 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.

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