Economic Aspects of Sin Industry in Croatia

Abstract

The aim of this paper is the analysis of the so-called sin industry in Croatia, during the 2008–2013 recession period. The sin industry in Croatia demonstrates resilience to recession by increasing its share in the economy. The share of the sin industry in the Croatian gross domestic product hovers around 2.17%, reaching 6.2 billion kuna. The most significant part of the sin industry is the manufacture and distribution of alcoholic beverages, followed by the manufacture of tobacco products and gambling activities. Less important, although still significant, are illegal activities such as prostitution and drug production and distribution. The sin industry consists of the so-called illegal and legal part. The illegal part accounts for 0.84% of the economy or 3.3 billion kuna. At the same time, the sin industry provides 22.5 thousand jobs, with a rising trend within the total employment in the period of recession (+15.6%).