T He S Ize and D Evelopment of the S Hadow E Conomies and S Hadow E Conomy L Abor F Orce of 18 a Sian and 21 Oecd C Ountries : F Irst R Esults for the 90

Using the currency demand and DYMIMIC approaches estimates about the size of the shadow economy in 18 Asian and 21 OECD countries are presented. The average size of the shadow economy (in percent of official GDP) over 1998/99 in 18 Asian countries is 25.8% and i n 21 OECD countries 16.7% of " official " GDP. The average size of the shadow economy labor force (in percent of the official labor force) of the year 1998/99 in 18 Asian countries is 21.9% and 7 OECD-countries 15.3%. An increasing burden of taxation and social security contributions combined with rising state regulatory activities are the driving forces for the growth and size of the shadow economy (labor force).