THE ANTI–RECESSION

Not all the economic news out of Europe is bleak:

The "shadow economy" - which includes untaxed trade in goods and services, such as cash-in-hand construction work or car repairs, but excludes serious crime such as illegal drugs and prostitution - is predicted to expand by 0.3 to 0.9 percent this year in 14 rich EU states, which are also members of the OECD.

The turnaround comes after 15 years of decline in black market activity and occurs at a time when the legitimate EU economy is expected to contract by two percent.

The research gathers together motivating factors such as rising taxation, unemployment and mistrust in the state as well as direct indices such as demand for cash from banks and trends in the use of electricity.

When the chips are down, government is not to be trusted.