Shadow economy is one of key problems in Ukraine, says Efficient Management Fund

13:33

The shadow economy is a key negative factor hindering the development of the regions and cutting the level of competitiveness of Ukraine.

The director of the Efficient Management Fund, Natalia Izosimova, said this while presenting the preliminary conclusions of a comprehensive study of the economy in Donetsk region and Lviv City. The study was a part of a project on the economic development of the regions, presented at the Regional Development as a Way to Increase National Competitiveness conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

She said that a certain part of the economic growth is in the shadows, and today those people who make economic decisions face a very important issue: how to fight the shadow economy without closing down business, and how to help business get out of the shadows.

During a systematic and deep diagnostics of the economy of the Ukrainian regions, Monitor Group, the partner of the fund, said that in various sectors, which differ in economic structure, from 30% to 80% of the economy is in the shadow in the regions. This gives grounds to say that the problem of the shadow economy is of top-priority in drawing up strategies for the economic development of the regions.

"The present situation leads to outflow of funds from Ukraine, scares investors and damages companies that are trying to work according to the rules," Andrew Swart, the partner of Monitor Group International Consulting Company said.

"The theme of regional competitiveness is one of top-priority for the fund's work. We're sure that the economic growth of the country directly depends on the successful development of the regions," Izosimova said.

The Efficient Management Fund was established in 2007 to draw up and realize projects and programs aimed at the long-term development of the Ukrainian economy.