Characteristics of the Methods of Assessing the Level of the Shadow Economy and Problems of Their Measurement

The article considers systematic approaches to assessing the shadow economy's level, substantiating their advantages and disadvantages. Researching methods to evaluate the level of the shadow economy is an essential task because the shadow economy includes illegal or incompletely officially registered economic activities. Such activity is not subject to taxation and regulation, which can lead to loss of state income and impact macroeconomic stability. Unregulated markets of the shadow economy guide to the exploitation of workers, insufficient social protection, and violation of workers' rights, which negatively impacts social justice. Understanding the extent of the shadow economy helps identify problem areas and regulatory gaps, which can lead to more effective policy measures to combat the shadow economy and stimulate economic growth. The methods used in Ukraine to determine the volume of the shadow economy and methodological approaches proposed by foreign scientists are analyzed. Determining the shadow economy's level remains a difficult task, and there is no universally recognized approach to its assessment. Different methodological approaches can produce different results due to the hidden and unregulated nature of the shadow economy. The proposed direction of improving the acquisition of raw data (formation of an information database) is the development of innovative data sources: the use of new data sources, such as big data (Big Data), digital traces, patterns, social media, which can help to obtain more accurate and complete information about the shadow economy. Analysis of these data can provide new insights into the scope and features of unofficial activity considering contextual factors such as the country's political, economic, social, and cultural situation. This can help better understand the causes and consequences of the shadow economy, why people work in it, and what motivates them and what they earn. Including the indicator of the level of the shadow economy in official statistical data is essential for obtaining an accurate map of the country's economy. Keywords: shadow economy, micro methods, macro methods, integral indicator, gross domestic product, economic activity