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Tax evasion and tax avoidance distort competition, deform business environment and influence efficiency of taxation. The states may affect the size of shadow economy and thus the amount of tax evasion by their activity as well as by the harmonization of tax legislative at international level. The paper investigates a statistical dependence concerning the relationship of the shadow economy and tax evasion. It is estimated that more than three-quarters of total tax revenue loss in the EU accounts for tax evasion linked to the existence of the shadow economy. Increased use of electronic payments and limiting cash transactions could eliminate the size of shadow economy and amount of tax evasion. This fact confirms statistical dependence between the number of electronic transactions per capita and the size of the shadow economy. Intensifying fight against tax evasion and efficient tax collection are therefore the key factors to ensuring a long-term sustainability of public finances in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze an understudied interorganizational social structure: the industry peer network. These networks are sets of firms that are industry peers but not market competitors, gathering on a regular basis to share information on relative performance and business practices. While little research has been conducted on industry peer networks, they appear to be common in many U.S. industries with regionalized market structures. Based on original fieldwork on two industry peer network systems--one among residential contractors and one among auto dealers, and two surveys among the latter, we argue that these networks are theoretically significant because they provide an opportunity for examining the conditions under which social structures may supplement the market by facilitating learning and providing additional motivation to improve. We contend that the very fact that entrepreneurs seek such "parallel ties" across markets provides evidence that remedy in social structure is sought for characteristic deficiencies of the market. We conclude by describing how peer networks afford a unique prism through which to analyze how social structure may influence the behavior and key outcomes for economic agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of religious institutions in shaping the formal as well as informal economy in rapidly developing cities in the Arabian Gulf. Focusing on one religious institution, Roman Catholicism, this study draws on data from six months of participant observation and interviews (N=70) with expatriates of diverse nationalities and occupations in five Gulf cities. Results shed light on ways in which religious institutions can provide two forms of cultural capital--technical and ideational--that contribute to members' economic survival in the formal as well as informal economy. Findings resonate with some previous research in the west on spirituality in the workplace, but also suggest new directions for the fruitful study of the relationship between religion and economic globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]