Are Underground Workers More Likely to be Underground Consumers?

We investigate the impact of working in the underground sector on the demand for underground commodities. Using a tax evasion model with costly information, we show that the presence of a network effect encourages underground workers to purchase underground commodities. The model is estimated using a unique Canadian microdata set for 1993. An increase in underground hours of work has a strong positive effect on the probability of purchasing underground commodities and on the level of expenditures. This relationship has a sizable effect on the impact of tax and enforcement parameters on the level of the underground economy.