The ‘Black Market’ and its Global Reaches
Ajanlekoko, an electrical engineer, is a Senior Manager in one of the telecommunication companies operating in Nigeria. He earlier made same post on Nairaland.com
I was just reading an interesting info-graphic on economywatch.com, on a topic we are all too familiar with in Nigeria: The Black Market.
For the uninitiated, the Black Market stands for unregulated business: buyers and sellers of any type of commodity and service that exists outside the reach of government regulation.
From New York to Dubai to Shanghai, black marketeers thrive under the noses of government and their agencies. And they usually deal in cheap, unregulated, and in many cases, counterfeit goods. From merchandise to cellphones to pharmaceuticals, not to mention outright illegal businesses like drugs and prostitution, the black market is king. The employees do not pay tax, and neither do the business owners. They utilize legal tender, but keep their money clean and tax-free through elaborate washing schemes. In places like our own Nigeria, a lot of them keep their cash physically with them. Ever thought about why Igbo traders almost commit suicide when major markets burn down?
The article estimates the size of the global Black Market at about US$10 trillion, rivaled only by the U.S.’s GDP of 14 trillion. It supports 1.8 billion jobs, about half of the total jobs in the world. Its economic value is estimated; for example transportation in Lagos alone prior to the advent of BRT was 100% private-controlled, and could be said to be worth at least $500 million, inclusive of vehicles, infrastructure, etc. It is also subject to illegal tolls extorted by area boys, of an unestimated value.
So, what are your respective thoughts about the black market? Should governments everywhere fight it, or attempt to control it? How do we recover the value lost to these informal channels? Comments welcome.
