The goal of the project was to unfold and analyze the composition, causes and consequences of the shadow economies in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Sweden and Belarus and to draw policy recommendations for tackling the shadow economies in the respective countries.
The project was carried out by the Lithuanian Free Market Institute in cooperation with dr. Friedrich Schneider of Johannes Kepler University Linz, the Civil Development Forum FOR, Poland, the Belarussian Institute for Strategic Studies, Arnis Sauka of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Timbro, Sweden, and the Mises Institute, Estonia. We were very pleased to have dr. Friedrich Schneider on board as our research advisor and keynote speaker. Dr. Schneider, who as you might know is one of the most acknowledged experts on the shadow economy globally, said the results of our research ad project were very unique and he was very impressed with them.
The project involved representative population surveys on public perceptions of the shadow economy and actual engagement in shadow economic activities that was conducted in six countries, including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Sweden and Belarus May 22 until June 15, 2015 by Spinter Research. The target audience included 18 to 75-year-old residents, with a total sample size consisting of 6,035 in all six countries. The surveys were carried out based on the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) method using a standardized questionnaire. The survey data and other sources of evidence were used to investigate the drivers of the shadow economy and to draw policy recommendations.
