Il frutto illegittimo dell'economia italiana: un confronto Nord-Sud

The illegitimate fruit of the Italian economy: A North-South comparison - With the recent revision of the national accounts manuals it was determined that the unobserved economy, expressly the underground economy, should be included in the national official statistics. In Italy, the underground economy is a structural but non-homogeneous characteristics that is widespread due to the ambiguity of politicians. The underground economy of Centre-North, characterized by fiscal evasion is different from the one prevailing in South, deriving from lack of entrepreneurship, technology and infrastructures. Once more the question is whether the underground economy is the problem of the South, impeding its growth, or rather a consequence of the South’s underdevelopment. A mix of old concepts and theories reassessed and new models and appropriate policies could help to limit the underground economy and define a new strategy for a systemic growth with the active contribution of enterprises, banks and public administration.

Guido M. Rey, Il frutto illegittimo dell'economia italiana: un confronto Nord-Sud in "QA Rivista dell’Associazione Rossi-Doria" 1/2007, pp 7-40, DOI: