14. Informal Economy and Legitimacy. The Spanish Case

The existence of an informal economy is a phenomenon that affects all countries. The amount of the informal economy in Spain in 2013 was estimated to be 196,000 euro millions (18.6% of the gross domestic product; GDP). Although there are several academic studies about the informal economy and its scope, definition, quantification, and positive and negative impacts, the methods used to reduce the impact of the informal economy are not sufficient, and there is an increasing gap between government administration measures and public opinion. For this reason, before adopting a measure to combat the informal economy, it is necessary to analyze the legitimacy of the measure. Lack of, or inadequate, legitimacy means that the measure does not accord with social norms and values, and this could lead to its failure. We carried out research to rationally search for solutions that would end the existence of the informal economy; the research employed previous analyses of the legitimacy of the problem, the effectiveness of measures to combat it, and the relationship between legitimacy and effectiveness. To meet this objective, an empirical online study was carried out between November 2013 and January 2014, via questionnaire; the questionnaire was answered by 745 people and the data were statistically analyzed.