https://doi.org/10.31174/SEND-HS2019-199VII33-01 

Abstract. The history of the shadow economy, its separate features begin with the emergence of the state. In the XX century, for countries experiencing a systemic crisis, the problems of the shadow economy became very important.  Since the 70s, this topic has become popular in Western economists, and since the 1980s it has become popular in the Soviet Union.  This interest was due to the growth of the shadow economy, its penetration into all spheres of economic and social relations in almost all countries of the world, as well as the fact that the spread of the shadow economy today constitutes a threat to national security.  However, the quantitative and qualitative parameters of the shadow economy vary greatly depending on the specific economic, social, historical and cultural peculiarities of one or another country. The problem of the existence of the shadow economy in Ukraine is of particular relevance today in connection with the election of a European vector of development by the Ukrainian society. Achieving the goal of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is only possible if the shadow economy is reduced, and its level in the developed countries is much lower than in our country, due to the greater trust of the citizens of such countries in state institutions. A significant turnover of shadow capital destroys the system of economic relations in the country, the withdrawal of these capital from the “shadow” and is the main way to improve the domestic economy. In this article the essence of the concept of the shadow economy, its influence on the development of the Ukrainian economy is disclosed.  The main reasons that hinder the process of the Ukrainian economy’s exit from the shadow are explored, as well as a number of measures that will promote de-shadowing.