Abstract

Using a Romanian household survey, the authors analysed the structure of households' income by sources (main job, secondary job, and informal activities), beginning by focusing on the data and methodological problems, certain clarifications being necessary. Afterwards, the size of informal economy and basic behavioural regimes, along with the growth of households' disposable income was estimated. The study permitted to conclude on the main reasons of the people to operate in the informal sector. Finally, based on the available data on the households' deciles relative to their monthly income, some conclusions to the year 2000 were extended and the shares of informal income within the ten groups of population were estimated. Also, by applying such methodology some comparative indicators between 1996 and 2000 were computed.
* (The first part of the study was published in Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting 1/2002. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the ACE PHARE Programme. A draft of the paper was presented at the workshop organised in Bucharest at the end of March 2002. We would like to thank Mihai Regep and Nona Chilian for their research assistance).

Key words: informal economy, estimation, personal income

JEL Classification: H31, C51, O17