FGV's Brazilian Institute of Economics (IBRE) and the Brazilian Institute for Ethical Competition (ETCO) announced yesterday, July 10, the Shadow Economy Index (IES) - an indicator of the production of goods and services not reported to the government, which are not computed in the National GDP. The index accounted for 16.6% of the GDP in 2012 - the lowest rate recorded in 10 years - with a decrease of 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is estimated that shadow economy had a turnover of USD 730 billion in absolute terms. Nevertheless, IBRE argues that there was a slowdown in the pace of decline of informal economy in the country over the past two years. But, for Professor Fernando de Holanda Barbosa Filho, the result is still positive, since it is necessary to take into account that, even with the poor economic performance in the year, informality keeps declining, he explains.