ABSTRACT
The sparse academic discussion on the cash economy in Australia highlights what appears to be little concern on the quality of economic data. Generally training in quantitative economics revolves around analysis of data either using established quantitative tools or more recently developed approaches. Yet very little time is spent, if at all, understanding data collection. Consequently many economists are molded into a mindset which is more often skeptical about failing theory rather than distortions in the data. This book highlights how important it is to recognize data distortions when modeling economic phenomena. The underground (or cash) economy, at least in Australia, has proven to distort significantly the size of national output as well as the swings in the business cycle.
