SIVA EKONOMIJA U BOSNI I HERCEGOVINI / GRAY ECONOMY IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Abstract

Gray economy - it is a phenomenon that is not easy to analyze because it is not in the domain of regular, institutionally arranged, visible, statistically measurable. It occurs in almost all areas of economic activity and in different aspects. Gray economy must be evaluated and analyzed in any country based on a deep understanding of how the economic system operates. Gray economy is economically legitimate, but legally illegal, it is not a phenomenon that is characteristic only of underdeveloped countries, nor of countries in the transition process. It is a global phenomenon, but its diffusion is dramatically different across countries, and these differences point to differences in the quality of business environment. Bosnia and Herzegovina is in this context in a delicate position. There is no aspect of economic, political and social life in BiH that does not affect these factors badly.  There is no area of social life in BiH where there are no serious problems that function normally, which is not in some form of crisis, and the crisis is a fertile ground for the side economy. The key causes of the gray economy were analyzed: avoidance of obligation to the state, protection of business profitability reduction, public goods and services offer and over-pricing. Gray economy also has certain positive effects (growing employment, better use of available resources, growing overall economic activity, and so on), but on the other hand there are many more negative effects that ultimately collapse into a valuable society system.