Moscow, Moscow, Russian Federation
Moscow, Moscow, Russian Federation
UDC 338
Introduction. In the agricultural sector, the distinction between legal household activities, informal employment, and activities in the shadow economy is less clear than in other sectors of the economy. This results in intermediate, semi-legal and socially acceptable forms of informal activity characterised by low wages, seasonal employment and geographical dispersion. The purpose of the article is to provide empirical evaluation of the impact of shadow economy activity in the agro-industrial complex on the sectoral structure of gross regional product. In addition, the article also aims to identify key priorities for formalising economic relations, taking into account the level of digitalisation in interactions between government authorities and agricultural producers. Methods. The empirical basis of the study is drawn from official regional statistical data from the Federal State Statistics Service and the Federal Tax Service for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, based on figures from 2024. Two complementary specifications of regression models were used in the study. In the initial analysis, it is used linear paired regression equations to assess the impact of the share of the agro-industrial complex in gross regional product (GRP) as the primary explanatory factor. The second analysis examines the impact of the composition of the sectoral structure of GRP, incorporating the shares of all sectoral complexes in the regression equation simultaneously. Results. Informal economic activities driven by compensatory effects should be formalised through minimal entry costs and other incentive mechanisms. Countering the growth of the shadow economy caused by tax evasion is best achieved through control procedures and increased transaction costs for those who break the law. In the short term, the priority should be to segment agricultural producers and launch formalisation programmes for them, using risk-based control tools, and impose strict sanctions on repeat offenders. It is imperative that, in the long term, measures be taken to reduce the costs of formalisation for micro-businesses. Moreover, there is a need to integrate digital traceability systems with tax and labour administration, and to expand cooperation and real-time advisory support.
shadow economy, informal employment, risk-based supervision, digital interaction
1. Andreeva, Irina G. and Marina G. Metelyova. 2014. “Tendencii razvitiya sovremennyh form hozyajstvovaniya v APK” [“Trends in the development of modern forms of management in the agro-industrial complex”] (In. Russ.) APK: ekonomika, upravlenie [APK: economics, management], 6 (June):31–8.
2. Bogdanovskiy, Vladimir A. 2007. “Zanyatost' v semejnyh hozyajstvah sel'skogo naseleniya: masshtaby, faktory, perspektivy” [“Employment in rural family farms: scale, factors, prospects”] (In. Russ.) Nikonovskie chteniya [Nikon readings], 12 (December):409–13.
3. Isaeva, Ol'ga V. 2019. “Osnovnye faktory, vliyayushchie na razvitie razlichnyh form hozyajstvovaniya v sel'skom hozyajstve Rossii” [“The main factors influencing the development of different forms of farming in Russian agriculture”] (In. Russ.) Regional'nye agrosistemy: ekonomika i sociologiya [Regional agricultural systems: Economics and Sociology], 2 (June):67–76.
4. Kondratieva, Olga V., and Olesia V. Slinko. 2023. “Razvitie regional'nyh informacionno-konsul'tacionnyh sluzhb i centrov kompetencij v APK” [“Development of regional information and consulting services and competence centers in the agro-industrial complex”] (In. Russ.) Professional'noe obrazovanie v sovremennom mire [Professional education in the modern world] 13, no. 2 (June):299–306. https://doi.org/10.20913/2618-7515- 2023-2-12
5. Laipanova, Zulfa M., and R. G. Khalkechev. 2024. “Nalogooblozhenie i nalogi LPH: otchetnost', poryadok predstavleniya otchetnosti” [“Taxation and household taxes: reporting, reporting procedure”] (In. Russ.) Progressivnaya ekonomika [Progressive Economics], 1 (January):5–19. https://doi.org/10.54861/27131211_2024_1_5
6. Latov, Yuri V. 2007. “Rossijskaya tenevaya ekonomika v kontekste nacional'noj ekonomicheskoj bezopasnosti” [“Russian shadow economy in context of national economic security”] (In. Russ.) Ekonomicheskij vestnik Rostovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Economic Herald of Rostov State University] 5, no. 1 (January):16–27.
7. Minakov, Ivan A. 2013. “Formirovanie rynka rabochej sily v agropromyshlennom komplekse” [“Forming market of labour force in agroindustrial complex”] (In. Russ.). Vestnik Michurinskogo gosudarstvennogo agrarnogo universiteta [Bulletin of Michurinsk State Agrarian University], 3 (June):94–8.
8. Muhanova, Maria N. 2018. “Neformal'nyj sektor v social'no-strukturnyh processah na regional'nyh rynkah truda APK” [“The informal sector in socio-structural processes in the regional labor markets of the agro-industrial complex”] 205–14. In: Mansurov V. A. (ed.) Stepnaya civilizaciya-2018 : Zemlya predkov: tradicii i novacii v social'nokul'turnom razvitii obshchestva [Steppe Civilization 2018: Land of Ancestors: Traditions and Innovations in the Socio-Cultural Development of Society] (In. Russ.).
9. Timakova, Roza T., and Ruslan V. Ilyukhina. 2023. “"Cifrovye tekhnologii: novye podhody k proslezhivaemosti zernovyh potokov v Rossii” [“Digital technologies: new approaches to the traceability of grain flows in Russia”]. (In. Russ.) Cifrovye modeli i resheniya [Digital models and solutions] 2, no. 2 (June):6. https://doi.org /10.29141/2782-4934-2023-2-2-6
10. Tkachenko, Elena A. 2019. “Al'ternativnaya zanyatost' v agrarnom sektore, kak napravlenie obespecheniya prodovol'stvennoj bezopasnosti” [“Alternative employment in the agricultural sector as a direction for ensuring food security”] 345–50. In: Innovacionnye podhody k razvitiyu nauki i proizvodstva regionov [Innovative approaches to the development of science and production in the regions] (In. Russ.). Tver' : Izdatel'stvo Tverskoj GSKHA.
11. Dell’Anno,Roberto. 2016. “Inequality and informality in transition and emerging countries.” IZA World of Labor, (January):1–11. https://doi.org/10.15185/izawol.325.v2
12. (a) Soto, Hernando de. 1989. The other path: The invisible revolution in the third world 214. New York : Harper & Row.
13. (b) Soto, Hernando de H. 1989. “The informals pose an answer to Marx.” Washington Quarterly 12, no. 1:165–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/01636608909443714
14. Hart, Keith. 1973. “Informal income opportunities and urban employment in Ghana.” Journal of Modern African Studies 11. no. 1 (March):61–89. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/159873
