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While the masses toiling in the expansive underground economies in Europe may not pay taxes, they need electricity and heat. This makes companies like Enel SPA ( ENLAY , quote ), Electricite de France SA ( ECIFY , quote ), Red Electrica ( RDEIY , quote ) and the international utilities exchange-traded fund ( IPU , quote ) appealing -- whatever happens on the "austerity" front.

An underground economy includes those who do not pay taxes on earnings, ranging from drug dealers to shoe shine boys.  Cash is preferred from the vendors, and many times it is all they accept.

According to a recent piece in the Financial Times by Gerry Walsh, "Spain's submerged economy is huge," millions are employed in jobs that do not show up in the official government statistics.  Walsh posits in the Financial Times that there could be 2.5 million in Spain alone who work "off the books."

In his words, he terms it a "massive submerged economy."  The underground economy is equally as large in Greece, Brazil, China, India and throughout the world.

While millions can work "off the books," they cannot work off the grid.  Electricity, water and heat are needed in daily life, whether you pay taxes or not.

Utility stocks such as Spain's Red Electricta (RDEIY), France's Electricite de France SA (ECIFY) and Italy's Enel SPA (ENLAY) allow for investors to benefit from the disfavor of companies in these countries through buying blue chip shares at a discount.

In addition, each utility company pays a dividend that is many times greater than the 2% average yield for a company on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

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