Digital Revolution and the Shadow Economy: Opportunities and Challenges for Kazakhstan

Saltanat Kondybayeva () and Zhansaya Temerbulatova ()
Additional contact information
Saltanat Kondybayeva: Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Zhansaya Temerbulatova: Almaty Management University

Chapter 3 in Shadow Economies in Turkic Republics, 2026, pp 67-90 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This study explores the impact of digital transformation on the shadow economy in Kazakhstan, focusing on both the challenges and opportunities presented by the rapid adoption of digital technologies. The research aims to assess how internet penetration and mobile cellular subscriptions influence the size of the shadow sector, while also considering the role of key macroeconomic variables such as GDP per capita, unemployment rate, inflation, and tax revenue. The empirical analysis, based on a mixed-method approach, reveals that increasing internet usage significantly reduces the shadow economy, driven by enhanced transparency and economic monitoring. In contrast, the proliferation of mobile cellular subscriptions shows a positive association with informal economic activities, highlighting the dual role of mobile technologies. The study also identifies the necessity of integrating digital financial systems and improving digital literacy to mitigate the adverse effects of digitalization. The findings underline the importance of well-coordinated policy measures to maximize the potential benefits of digital transformation while addressing the inherent risks associated with the shadow economy.

Keywords: Digital transformation; Shadow economy; Internet penetration; Mobile cellular subscriptions; Kazakhstan; Economic monitoring; Digital financial systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-12872-0_3

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783032128720

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-12872-0_3

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().