Actual problems of innovative economy and law

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Mechanism for counteracting the shadow economy in Ukraine’s agriculture: significance and implementation tools

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УДК: 338.43:343.359.2:336.225

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36887/2524-0455-2026-2-52

Krasnorutskyy Oleksiy,
Doctor of Economics, Professor, Director,
Livestock Farming National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1744-3257
Marenych Tetiana,
Doctor of Economics, Professor, Chief Researcher of the Department of Economics, Management and Transfer of Innovations in Livestock Farming,
Livestock Farming National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3162-7394

Published: 31.05.2026

The purpose of the article is to theoretically substantiate the essence of the shadow economy in agro-industrial production and study the mechanisms for counteracting its spread. The study presents various assessments of the level of the shadow economy in Ukraine, including in agriculture. It is concluded that the problem of its assessment is not only technical, but also institutional and conceptual in nature. Its solution requires an interdisciplinary approach, improvement of statistical methods, and increased transparency of economic policy. The factors that shape the shadow economy in the country’s agricultural sector are summarized. It is noted that the scale of shadow land cultivation (up to 30%) causes budget losses due to tax underpayment, creates unequal conditions for legal producers, increases corruption risks, and reduces the efficiency of the industry, which indicates a high level of shadow activity, comparable to other sectors of the economy. A transparent system of land and production accounting should become the basis for forecasting and managing domestic consumption, export, and import of agricultural products. The importance of the mechanism for combating the shadow economy in the agricultural sector is considered, and the need for a comprehensive approach to its implementation is justified. The author’s definition of the “mechanism for combating the shadow economy in agriculture” is presented as a set of legal, economic, administrative, and information-analytical measures and instruments aimed at identifying, preventing, and reducing the volume of illegal economic activity, ensuring the transparency of land and labor relations, increasing tax discipline, and creating conditions for legal business management. The focus is on administrative, tax, digital, and institutional instruments that can ensure the transparency of agricultural production, strengthen social protection of workers, improve the investment climate, and create equal conditions for competition. It is proposed to conditionally divide the mechanism for combating the shadow economy in the agricultural sector into four interrelated blocks: regulatory and legal, organizational and institutional, economic and fiscal, and information-analytical. The development of public goods and the improvement of tax administration are identified as priorities of state policy to reduce the level of the shadow economy and support rural development.

Keywords: shadow economy, agriculture, agricultural sector, taxes, digitalization, agricultural policy, de-shadowing.

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Krasnorutskyy O. , Marenych T. Mechanism for counteracting the shadow economy in Ukraine’s agriculture: significance and implementation tools. Actual problems of innovative economy and law. 2026. №2. 238-244 pp. https://doi.org/10.36887/2524-0455-2026-2-52

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Krasnorutskyy O. , Marenych T. Mechanism for counteracting the shadow economy in Ukraine’s agriculture: significance and implementation tools. Actual problems of innovative economy and law. https://doi.org/10.36887/2524-0455-2026-2-52