Mapping the Shadow Economy: Spatial Variations in the use of High Denomination Bank Notes in Brussels

Nicola Francesco Dotti; Bas Van Heur; Colin C. Williams

doi:10.1515/esrp-2015-0014

Authors

Nicola Francesco Dotti Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), Faculty of Sciences, Cosmopolis, Department of Geography, Pleinlaan 2, BE-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Bas Van Heur Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), Faculty of Sciences, Cosmopolis, Department of Geography, Pleinlaan 2, BE-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Colin C. Williams Sheffield University Management School, University of Sheffield, Conduit Road, Sheffield S10 1FL, United Kingdom

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1515/esrp-2015-0014

Keywords:

informal economy, undeclared work, cash deposits, Brussels

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to map the spatial variations in the size of the shadow economy within Brussels. Reporting data provided by the National Bank of Belgium on the deposit of high denomination banknotes across bank branches in the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, the finding is that the shadow economy is concentrated in wealthier populations and not in deprived or immigrant communities. The outcome is a call to transcend the association of the shadow economy with marginalized groups and the wider adoption of this indirect method when measuring spatial variations in the shadow economy.

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