Albania - Building Competitiveness : Sector Case Studies - Apparel and Footwear, Tourism, and Mining
Commitment to structural reforms and to economic stabilization has enabled high rates of gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Albania since the start of transition, and consequent reductions in poverty. The crisis caused by the collapse of '...
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| Format: | Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank
2012
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| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000333038_20100331010718 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3177 |
| Summary: | Commitment to structural reforms and to
economic stabilization has enabled high rates of gross
domestic product (GDP) growth in Albania since the start of
transition, and consequent reductions in poverty. The crisis
caused by the collapse of 'pyramid' investment
schemes in late 1996 and early 1997, the Government began to
implement a stabilization and reform program which has
resulted in rates of economic growth averaging more than
five percent annually between 1998 and 2007. Strong growth
has in turn made possible a 6.8 percentage point decline in
the poverty headcount, a higher drop than in most countries
in the (Eastern) Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region. These
achievements have been underpinned by prudent fiscal and
monetary policies. Budget deficits have been kept under
control, declining from an average of around 10 percent of
GDP in the late 1990s to less than 4 percent since 2005. In
parallel, a monetary targeting regime has ensured price
stability, with inflation remaining at around 3 percent in
recent years. This report discusses how Albania can improve
its long term competitiveness and growth by facilitating
firms' ability to employ technology and skills and by
closing the gap between formal regulations and actual
enforcement. The second chapter sets the stage by presenting
the macroeconomic setting, as well as key structural
features of the Albanian economy. The third chapter provides
an overview of investment climate constraints on firm
performance. The crucial pillars of the investment climate
that affect firm performance that is to say: (i) access to
and adoption of knowledge by Albanian firms, and (ii) the
gap between formal and informal regulation are treated in
chapters four and five respectively. Chapter six concludes
and summarizes policy recommendations. |
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