| Summary: | It is argued that the underground economy is old as government itself. Many people know how the underground economy functions, but a few are those who know its level. This article analyzes the most important measurement methods of the underground economy, as well as the way these methods could be applied. The methods are grouped into three categories: direct methods (that are using micro-economy data, gathered through sociological investigations, fiscal audits and other direct investigation methods), indirect methods (that use macroeconomic indicators in order to highlight the evolution and the level of the informal economy) and causative methods. The paper also describes five indirect indicators which are used for the underground economy estimation, and presents the advantages as well as the limits of the methods.
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