Source: 1st Line - The Business newspaper - Foz do Iguaçu / PR - 05/08/2010

Workers are left out of the formal economy
For the first time Brazil knows the size of its production of goods and services

The Brazilian informal economy generated R $ 578 billion in 2009, more than the GDP of Argentina, informed the Brazilian Institute of Economics of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (Ibre / FGV) and the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO).

Fernando de Holanda Barbosa Filho, a researcher at Ibre / FGV and responsible for the study, says that obtaining this estimate is an exceptional advance and answers one of the main questions, that is, measure how much is produced in the Brazilian underground economy and compare it with others indicators, obtaining a concrete order of magnitude.

“We are talking about almost R $ 600 billion, which are outside the formal Brazilian economy. To give you an idea of ​​the seriousness of this problem, just remember that Brazil's underground economy surpasses the entire Argentine economy ”, points out André Franco Montoro Filho, ETCO's executive director.

Informality, in addition to its relationship with organized crime and precarious working conditions, brings direct damage to society, creates an environment of transgression, encourages opportunistic behavior with a drop in the quality of investment and a reduction in the growth potential of the economy Brazilian. In addition, adds FGV, it causes the reduction of government resources destined to education, health and infrastructure programs.