ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a snapshot of the ways in which Australians routinely think about the cash economy and contribute to its apparently increasing presence. The links between the cash economy and the official economy are strong. The relationships between the two economies suggest that at the individual level, getting a job in one may be an advantage in getting a job in the other. The chapter explores the data for evidence of recipients of government benefits working for cash-in-hand more often than others in the community. For the external constraints of the perceived norms of others in the community and the likelihood of getting caught the correlations again are significant though small, and are in the direction predicted. The visibility is reflected in Australians' perceptions of community tolerance of cash economy activity, a tolerance that is accompanied by a personal belief that it really is the wrong thing to do.
