The growth of the public sector in the post‐war period and the consequences of this development for economic growth is a strongly disputed subject of economic theory and policy. In this paper the development trends of state activities in the case of the Federal Republic of Germany are presented. The structure of public expenditures as well as the tax structure are taken into consideration and possible impacts on real economic growth are analysed. The negative correlations between some kinds of public expenditures (or taxes) and the growth rate of real GNP should not be taken in proof of the growth‐retarding effects which might ensue from increasing state activities. It seems to be more likely that state activities have induced shifts of resources from the formal into the informal economy. Politicians should be aware that some measures of economic policy conventionally proposed will strengthen the movement into the informal economy, thus intensifying the current problems within the public budgets as well as in the social security system.

The paper tries to shed some light on the definition of the shadow economy, in order to separate shadow activities from market activities and household production. A total income concept is applied, which is based on the labor force being engaged in market, shadow and household activities. Based on such a clear concept, tax evasion can be defined and identified in the market sector and is also usually taking place in the shadow economy, where it is often accompanied by evasion of social security contributions as well as transfer fraud. Money usage in the three sectors is then critically analyzed, and measurement as well as data problems are seriously taken into consideration. The results of our research project suggest that the size of the shadow economy as estimated with the currency approach often yields the highest possible values. Other approaches and plausibility considerations produce much lower values, which seem to be much more realistic. Consequently, policy considerations to strengthen the control mechanisms should be met with utmost skepticism.

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The breakdown of the financial markets in fall 2007 and the following debt crisis in the EU has produced an enormous mistrust in financial products and the monetary system. The paper describes the background of the crisis induced by functional failures in risk management and the multifold principal agent problems existing in the financial market structures. The innovated nontransparent financial products have mixed up different risk weights and puzzled, or even fooled formerly loyal customers. Contemporaneously abundant liquidity on the international financial market accompanied by easy money policies of the Fed in the US and the ECB in the euro zone have depressed the real interest rate to zero or even negative values. Desperate investors are seeking for safe-assets, but their demand remains unsatisfied. Low real interest rates and the consequently lacking compound interest effect in the same time jeopardize private as well as public insurance schemes being dependent on capital funding: the demographic crisis becomes gloomy. Therefore, the managers of the financial markets have to reestablish CSR and to divide the markets into safe-asset areas for the usual clients and “casino” areas for those who like to play with high risks. Only with transparency and risk adequate financial products can the lost commitment be regained.