Name: The global underground economy: Understanding its vast size and reach.
Start: 2025-09-14T16:00:00-07:00
End: 2025-09-14T17:30:00-07:00
Location: Urban Plates

The world's underground economy is thought to be about $20 trillion per year, or around [update: 12% to 30%+!] of global GDP. It is often divided into the grey economy (informal sector that is unreported and untaxed but often not illegal or predatory), and the black market, like money laundering, scams, narcotics, and human trafficking.

From what I have read, I think one could also subdivide the underground economy in another way. The part used mainly by poor people (informal work sector, knock-off handbags, but also smuggling); and the part used by the rich and powerful (money laundering, tax evasion, illegal art/antiquities trade, the biggest criminal gangs, etc.). Maybe think in terms of an informal LABOR economy versus the informal (and highly mobile/global) economy for CAPITAL.

Since few people have much of a clue how prevalent - and influential - the grey and black economies are - our meeting probably will serve as an introduction to the topic. We can discuss what constitutes the underground economy, especially its cross-border parts. The harms it causes are not limited to the obvious ones like sex trafficking and drug smuggling. For example, government corruption is one of the world's worst and most intractable drags on econ/social development (see the book [Thieves of State](https://www.amazon.com/Thieves-State-Corruption-Threatens-Security/dp/0393352285), for example). The underground criminal economy greased by bribery is a huge driver of cultures of corruption.

And we can talk about the very large multinational enforcement networks that try to fight the black market, and why they fail so spectacularly (esp. when it comes to rich companies'/people's tax evasion/laundering hmmm).

**Background optional readings:**

\-\- Underground economy encompasses so many activities that useful readable broad articles are hard to find\. These first two are good and thorough but a bit dry and long\. Maybe later I'll post a few on specific segments\, like smuggling networks\, money laundering\, tax evasion\.
o [Unveiling the Shadow Economy](https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/unveiling-the-shadow-economy), 2023. **Recommended overview**, but dry.
o Wiki entry [Informal Economy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informal_economy#:~:text=Poverty,-Informal%20vendors%20in&text=The%20relationship%20between%20the%20informal,3%25%20of%20the%20respondents).).
o [Global map visualizing approx. size of underground economy in each country](https://www.visualcapitalist.com/size-of-the-shadow-economy-by-country/).
o Quick AI sum of key differences between [underground economy for the poor (Labor) vs. the rich](https://www.google.com/search?q=the+global+underground+economy+for+the+rich+and+poor&sca_esv=7363e84110bffb1e&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZ1Y6MJ25_tmWITc7uy4KIeqDdErwP5rACeJAty2zADJjYuUnSkczEhozYdaq1wZrEheAY38UjnRKVLYFDREDmzxDQH5cf73Nv5SUwLly1WG01kd0x6xwqRzi4OBnEW65tn62XvLTlOVUiuqU_-c52rQSPbzBVwa4gwPo8bjR3cgzknkm5OeDockKv0WDUfN-v0gyB1Q&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiW5ILdis-PAxUXJ0QIHVqmAMwQ2J8OegQICxAE&biw=1351&bih=734&dpr=1.65&atvm=1&mstk=AUtExfDs4mvTy5tlcJdjHUjLR0nxdR5gnNqiRgp-dpC1i7_wE51t5Gn6ZfAwMd48cDRPtxVL2Gs5qw298RzPUMvvno5wNwwJ6D5RcuT_6qgXa31h7k33GzofPMOPo0XJk0J0AAWSO2FyWNQKwqvn0sic-D8DR27dSkvbDZg&csuir=1) (Capital).
o [In USA, informal sector work does little to alleviate poverty](https://www.lisep.org/content/informal-economy-of-no-help-to-low-wage-earners#:~:text=Chair%20Gene%20Ludwig.-,%E2%80%9CAt%20best%2C%20it%20improves%20their%20conditions%20slightly%20but%20leaves%20them,About%20the%20Informal%20Economy).

More on underground economy for the rich:
o Tax havens, offshore high finance [undermine democracy and capitalism](https://medium.com/@ianhancock79/how-offshore-finance-is-quietly-undermining-democracy-and-the-global-economy-c67ac54ed357).
o [The ultra rich are building a separate world for themselves in tax/regulatory havens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFp7_5KK2JE). (45m video Bloomberg).

DavidG

The World Affairs Discussion Group

Movements & Politics

Economics

International Relations

Current Events

Foreign Policy Topics

Political Cafe

International Affairs

The global underground economy: Understanding its vast size and reach.

Intellectual Discussions

Criminal Justice

Import and Export

Urban Plates

Share

The World Affairs Discussion Group

The global underground economy: Understanding its vast size and reach.

The World Affairs Discussion Group

Details

Members are also interested in