Running head: A REPORT ON ALBANIA

A Report on Albania

Açıkgöz Mehmet Reşat

170201062

Lecturer:Dr.Dzenita Siljak
November/2020
 Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................2

Macroeconomic stability.................................................................................................................2

Trade..............................................................................................................................................10

Competitiveness.............................................................................................................................14

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................16

Reference.......................................................................................................................................17

1 A REPORT ON ALBANIA
 Introduction

Albania is a small country situated at the southeast part of the Europe. Previously, the

country belongs to the upper middle income group of countries (Mujataba, Jena &

Mukhopadhyay, 2020)1. The population of the country is low. The country is associated with

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization for Security and Cooperation in

Europe (OSCE), World Trade Organization (WTO) and Organization of the Black Sea Economic

Cooperation (BSEC). Albania is a transition economy as it is in the phase of economic transition

from central economy to a more open market economy. This report discusses about the

competitiveness of Albania. In world economy and especially for growth of economy of a

country it is necessary for it to become competitive. Competitiveness allows a country to

broaden the trade sector and achieve higher macroeconomic stability. Therefore, from the other

2 way around macroeconomic

A REPORT ON ALBANIA stability and trade condition of a country helps to understand the

competitiveness of a country as these impact competitiveness factors like global competitiveness

index, FDI, ease of doing business, labour conditions and many more directly. Therefore, this

report would considers all the relevant factors of macroeconomic stability, trade and

competitiveness and provides a details study on Albania. Thus, the objective of the report is to

make a detailed analysis of competitiveness of Albania’s transition economy based on the

macroeconomic stability and trade condition of the country.

1
Mujtaba, A., Jena, P. K., & Mukhopadhyay, D. (2020). Determinants of CO 2 emissions in
upper middle-income group countries: an empirical investigation. Environmental Science and
Pollution Research, 27(30), 37745-37759.
 Macroeconomic stability

Macroeconomic stability of a country depends on the economic indicators. The major

economic indicators for a country are GDP growth rate, inflation rate, unemployment rate,

general government debt and budget deficit or surplus. The analysis of the above mentioned

indicators for Albania are done in the following paragraphs.

GDP growth rate

3 A REPORT ON ALBANIA

Figure 1: GDP growth rate

Source: (World Bank, 2020a)

From figure 1, it is evident that after the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 – 2009 the

economy of Albania faced severe contraction. The period of economic contraction continued for

3 years till 2013. However, after 2013, the economy of the country started to flourish and it

experienced consecutive growth (World Bank, 2020a)2. The reason behind this growth was
2
World Bank (2020a). GDP growth (annual %) - Albania | Data. (2020). Retrieved 10 November
2020, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?
end=2019&locations=AL&start=2010
 improved economic conditions of the country which was mainly due to growth in number of new

businesses in the country (World Bank, 2020a). The economy of country is dependent on

production of hydroelectric. The decline in production of hydroelectric in the country caused the

fall in economic output of the country which is nothing but GDP (Wagner, Hauer & Habersack,

2019)3. Thus, due to this reason the GDP growth of the country declined significantly. The

current situation of the country’s economy is not well due the outbreak of COVID 19. However,

it can be said that the country experienced fluctuation in GDP growth but is not so frequent. It

can be inferred that in terms of GDP growth rate country is moderately stable.

Inflation rate

4 A REPORT ON ALBANIA

Figure 2:

Inflation rate

Source: (World Bank, 2020b)

3
Wagner, B., Hauer, C., & Habersack, H. (2019). Current hydropower developments in
Europe. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 37, 41-49.
 Inflation rate is a strong indicator of macroeconomic stability of a country (Vasulieva et

al., 2018)4. More the fluctuation of price of goods and services in a country more is the

instability in the economy. However, a low inflation rate is desirable for an economy to become

progressive and secure future growth (Grinin & Korotayev, 2018)5. From figure 2, it can be

observed that the inflation rate in Albania in the last ten years has fluctuated numerous times.

The number of fluctuations indicates that the economy of the country has faced several ups and

downs (World Bank, 2020b)6. However, if more closely observed it can be seen that Albania has

been successful to keep the inflation rate low for a longer period of time. It can be observed from

figure 2 that in 2010 the inflation rate was just over 3.5% whereas in 2019 the inflation rate

dropped below 1.5%. However, if the entire decade is observed then it can be said that in most of

the years the inflation rate was around 2% that makes the average inflation rate around 2% the

last ten years. Therefore, from this analysis of inflation rate it can be said that the country has
5 A REPORT ON ALBANIA
maintained the economy well and thus its economy quite stable. This economics stability is good

for its long term growth and economic competitiveness (Schwab, 2018)7.

Unemployment rate

4
Vasylieva, T. A., Lieonov, S. V., Liulov, O. V., & Kyrychenko, K. I. (2018). Macroeconomic
stability and its impact on the economic growth of the country.

5
Grinin, L. E., & Korotayev, A. V. (2018). The future of the global economy in the light of
inflationary and deflationary trends and long cycles theory. World Futures, 74(2), 84-103.
6
World Bank (2020b). Inflation, consumer prices (annual %) - Albania | Data. (2020). Retrieved
13 November 2020, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG?
end=2019&locations=AL&start=2010
7
Schwab, K. (2018). The global competitiveness report 2018. In World Economic Forum (pp. 9-
14).
 Figure 3: Unemployment rate

Source: (World Bank, 2020c)

Unemployment is not good for an economy if it is higher than the natural rate of

unemployment (Palley, 2018)8. High unemployment means there is not sufficient economic

welfare in a country (Ebbinghaus, 2020)9. High rate of unemployment means there is large

number of people who are looking for work but not getting any. This indicates that a large
6 A REPORT ON ALBANIA
number of people is there in the country without any income (Beirne et al., 2020) 10. It is nothing

but a burden on the economy of a country. In case of Albania, it has been observed that the

unemployment in the country is very high. Such an unemployment rate is definitely harmful for

the economy of the country (Singh, Gupta & Agarwal, 2020)11. Therefore, it can be said that the

government of Albania needs to consider the unemployment with prime cautiousness (World

Bank, 2020c)12. In figure 3, it can be observed that the in the last ten years the average

unemployment rate of the country is close to 15%. However, for last 4 years the unemployment
8
Palley, T. (2018). Recovering Keynesian Phillips curve theory: hysteresis of ideas and the
natural rate of unemployment. Review of Keynesian Economics, 6(4), 473-492.
9
Ebbinghaus, B. (2020). Changing work and welfare: unemployment and labour market policies.
In Handbook on Society and Social Policy. Edward Elgar Publishing.
10
Beirne, K., Doorley, K., Regan, M., Roantree, B., & Tuda, D. (2020). The potential costs and
distributional effect of Covid-19 related unemployment in Ireland. Budget Perspectives, 2021.
11
Singh, G., Gupta, R., & Agarwal, N. (2020). Economic Re-Engineering: Covid-19. Singh, G.,
Gupta, R. and Agarwal, (2020), 01-05.
 of the country has been declining. It should be noted that in 2016 the unemployment rate in the

country was nearly 18%. This rate of unemployment declined continuously since then and

currently the rate is around 12%. Even though the unemployment rate has declined in Albania,

the government of the country need to take strong measures to lower the unemployment of the

country to natural level. Hence, from the unemployment condition of the country it can be said

that the country need to be more economically stable to achieve higher competitiveness.

General government debt

General government debt is nothing but the amount of borrowings the government of a

country takes rom the private sector and other foreign countries (Yared, 2019)13. Higher the

government debt of a country higher is its inability to invest in the areas that will help the

country to grow at a faster rate (Jacob & Gokbel, 2018)14. Therefore, a country should always try

7 toAkeep
REPORT ON ALBANIA
its general government debt as low as possible, then only it can invest in the required

fields that would provide the necessary outcome that improves the economic condition of a

country (Hurley, Morris & Portelance, 2019)15. In case of Albania, it can be observed from figure

4, that the general government debt of the country is currently just over 60% which is not a

desirable value. The percentage of the debt increased continuously from 2010 to 2015 (IMF,

12
World Bank (2020c). Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) -
Albania | Data. (2020). Retrieved 13 November 2020, from
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?end=2020&locations=AL&start=2010
13
Yared, P. (2019). Rising government debt: Causes and solutions for a decades-old
trend. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33(2), 115-40.
14
Jacob, W. J., & Gokbel, V. (2018). Global higher education learning outcomes and financial trends:
Comparative and innovative approaches. International Journal of Educational Development, 58, 5-17.
15
Hurley, J., Morris, S., & Portelance, G. (2019). Examining the debt implications of the Belt
and Road Initiative from a policy perspective. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and
Development, 3(1), 139-175.
 2020)16. In 2015, the rate was the highest in the last ten years. However, the percentage of the

debt declined continuously after 2015 and in 2019, it was 65.9%. Hence, still the general

government debt is above 60%. Therefore, in terms of general government debt it can be said

that the economy of Albania requires much work to make it economic stable.

Figure 4: General
8 A REPORT ON ALBANIA
government debt

Source: (IMF, 2020)

Budget

Budget of country is the amount of expenditure that the government plans to make in

different sectors of a country in a year (Moynihan & Beazly, 2016)17. During a normal year when

16
IMF (2020). Albania and the IMF. (2020). Retrieved 13 November 2020, from
https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/ALB#countrydata
17
Moynihan, D., & Beazley, I. (2016). Toward next-generation performance budgeting: Lessons
from the experiences of seven reforming countries. The World Bank.
 there is no existence of significant external shock to the economy (Liu & Zhang, 2020) 18. Now if

the budget of a country is in surplus then it can be said that the government has earned much

more than its requirement to run the expenses of the country smoothly. However, if the budget of

a country is in deficit the government would not be able to make all the necessary expenses and

thus it would faces difficulties in growing in a smooth way (Trang & Hong, 2017) 19. The budget

of Albania has always in deficit in the last ten years. From 2010 to 2015, the budget deficit

condition was quite bad as it was above 3% during these years. The improvement of economic

condition of the country has improved the budget deficit condition of the country. After 2015,

the budget deficit of the country is well below 3% (Statista, 2020)20. Hence, it can be said that the

current macroeconomic condition of the country is much stable than initial previous years.

9 A REPORT ON ALBANIA

18
Liu, G., & Zhang, C. (2020). Economic policy uncertainty and firms' investment and financing
decisions in China. China Economic Review, 63, 101279.
19
Trang, N. T. N., & Hong, D. T. T. (2017). Nonlinear effects of oil prices on inflation, growth,
budget deficit, and unemployment. Journal of Economic Development, (JED, Vol. 24 (1)), 73-
89.
20
Statista, (2020). Albania - budget balance in relation to GDP 2009-2024 | Statista. (2020).
Retrieved 18 November 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/444538/albania-budget-
balance-in-relation-to-gdp/#:~:text=Albania's%20budget%20balance%20in%20relation%20to
%20GDP%202024&text=In%202018%2C%20Albania's%20budget%20deficit,around
%201.35%20percent%20of%20GDP.
 Figure 5: Budget deficit

Source: (Statista, 2020)

Trade

Trade patterns

Albania is engaged in trade and export and imports goods and services to and from

different countries. The goods that are exported and imported by the country are vegetable, food

products, textile and clothing, footwear, minerals, animals and chemicals, hides, metals woods,

transportation, stones and glass (Wits.worldbank.org, 2020)21. With development of the country

and gaining relationship with more number of countries the export and import of Albania is

10 increasing
A REPORT (Radonshiqi,
ON ALBANIA2017)22. Therefore, goods that are exported and imported by the country

can be categorized into four broad heads such as raw materials, intermediate goods, consumer

goods and capital goods. Therefore, it can be said that the country is engaged in export of large

number of products. The most exported product of the country is leather footwear

(Wits.worldbank.org, 2020). On the other hand, the top import of the country is refined

petroleum (Wits.worldbank.org, 2020). This shows that the country has comparative advantage

in many products and thus it can be said that the competitiveness of the country should be

considerably good (Wits.worldbank.org, 2020).

21
Wits.worldbank.org (2020). Albania Trade Summary | WITS Data. (2020). Retrieved 10
November 2020, from
https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/ALB/Year/LTST/Summary
22
Radonshiqi, R. (2017). International Trade and Trade Relations in Albania. Noble International
Journal of Business and Management Research, 1(3), 68-73.
 Trade partners

Albania shares trade relations with large number of countries. It should be noted that the

country might share trading relations with a large number of countries but it has few top trade

partners who generates most of the trade volume of the country (Wits.worldbank.org, 2020). The

major export partner of the country are Italy, Spain, Serbia, Greece and Germany. On the other

hand, the major import partners of Albania are Italy, Greece, Turkey, Germany and China

(Wits.worldbank.org, 2020)23. As per trade of Albania in 2018, it has been found that in the year

the top trading partner of Albania was Italy. With Italy, Albania made a trade of $1.29 billion

(Oec.world, 2020)24. Therefore, it can be said that Albania has good trade status in the world and

is doing good in the concerned sector.

Export and import

11 A REPORT ON ALBANIA

23
Wits.worldbank.org (2020). Albania trade balance, exports, imports by country 2018 | WITS
Data. (2020). Retrieved 10 November 2020, from
https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/ALB/Year/LTST/TradeFlow/EXPIMP/Par
tner/by-country

24
Oec.world (2020). Albania (ALB) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners. (2020). Retrieved 10
November 2020, from https://oec.world/en/profile/country/alb
 Figure 6: Import (% GDP)

Source: (World Bank, 2020d)

Albania is well engaged in export and import of various goods. It is known from theory

of economics that the when the value of export of a country is higher than its import then the

current account of the country will be positive (World Bank, 2020d)25. It indicates a strong trade

condition of a country. In figure 6 and 7, the import value as percentage of GDP and the value of

export as percentage of GDP respectively. From the figures, it has been observed the percentage

of import is larger than the percentage of export. However, it can be observed that export value is

increased and import is decreasing (World Bank, 2020e)26. It indicates that other countries are

becoming more dependent on Albania (World Bank, 2020e). Thus, it is a sign of rising

competitiveness of a country.

12 A REPORT ON ALBANIA

25
World Bank (2020d). Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) - Albania | Data. (2020).
Retrieved 10 November 2020, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.IMP.GNFS.ZS?
end=2019&locations=AL&start=2010&view=chart

26
World Bank (2020e). Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) - Albania | Data. (2020).
Retrieved 10 November 2020, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS?
end=2019&locations=AL&start=2010
 Figure 7: Export (% GDP)

Source: (World Bank, 2020e)

Free trade agreement

Albania has free trade agreement (FTA) with many countries. FTA is indicator of

positive relationship of one country with the other (Baeno – Rojas & Herrero – Olarte, 2020) 27.

The country that participates in FTA then the cost of production declines for a country due to

non – existence of price barriers. As a result, with more number of FTA a country becomes more

competitive. Albania has FTA with Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia, Moldova

and Bosnia and the Herzegovina. This FTA is signed under Central European Free Trade

Agreement (Privacyshield.gov, 2020)28. The other countries with whom Albania has FTA are

Turkey, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland (Privacyshield.gov, 2020).

13 A REPORT ON ALBANIA
Competitiveness

The competitiveness of a country depends on various factors and it is measured by

combined analysis of the competitiveness indexes such as ease of doing business, global

competitiveness index, tax rates, labor force, corruption, FDI and existence of informal

economy. From the aspect of ease of doing business, it has been found that the rank of Albania
27
Baena-Rojas, J. J., & Herrero-Olarte, S. (2020). From Preferential Trade Arrangements to Free
Trade Agreements: One of the Downturns of Cooperation in International Relations?. Social
Sciences, 9(8), 139.
28
Privacyshield.gov (2020). Albania - Trade Agreements | Privacy Shield. (2020). Retrieved 10

November 2020, from https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=Albania-Trade-

Agreements#:~:text=Albania%20is%20a%20member%20of,Serbia%2C%20and%20Bosnia

%20and%20Herzegovina.&text=Albania%20also%20has%20an%20FTA,entered%20into

%20force%20in%202008.
 was 82 in 2019, which is moderately good but it should be noted that the rank of the country

worsened in comparison to previous years (World Bank, 2020f)29. As per Global

Competitiveness Index of 2019, the rank of Albania was 81 which is five ranks lower than its

previous rank. It indicates that the competitiveness of the country has declined (Weforum.org,

2020)30. The FDI condition of the country is good as the amount of FDI is on the rise in Albania.

Therefore, it can be said that the foreign investors are finding the country competitive (World

Bank, 2020g)31. In Albania, presence of corruption is quite visible and that is why the rank of the

country is 106 in Corruption Perception Index (Transparency.org, 2020)32. Therefore, it can be

said that corruption is arch rival of industry and thus economic growth. Hence, corruption does

impact the competitiveness of a country adversely (Kaplan & Akçoraoğlu, 2017)33. Labor is

abundant in the country and it is evident from high unemployment rate (World Bank, 2020c).

Thus, the country needs more business to reduce its unemployment rate. The corporate tax rate is
14 A REPORT ON ALBANIA
15% in Albania for the companies that have annual revenue more than 5 million Albanian lek

(PWC, 2020)34. Any company that has revenue lower that the said amount is exempted from tax

29
World Bank (2020f). Ease of doing business index (1=most business-friendly regulations) |
Data. (2020). Retrieved 13 November 2020, from
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ

30
Weforum.org (2020). Retrieved 11 November 2020, from
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf

31
World Bank (2020g). Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) - Albania |
Data. (2020). Retrieved 11 November 2020, from
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.CD.WD?locations=AL
32
Transparency.org (2020). Albania. (2019). Retrieved 11 November 2020, from
https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/albania#
33
Kaplan, E. A., & Akçoraoğlu, A. (2017). Political instability, corruption, and economic
growth: Evidence from a panel of OECD countries. Business and Economics Research
Journal, 8(3), 363.
 (PWC, 2020). Thus, it can be said that for new business Albania is good choice if other adverse

factors are solved.

Conclusion

From the above discussion regarding macroeconomic condition, trade and

competitiveness of Albania, it can be inferred that the country is moderately stable and

prospering economically. In addition to that, the trade condition of the county is improving. The

rising FTA agreements are making the county more competitive. However, the country has few

drawbacks in terms of ease of doing business and corruption. These problems need to be solved

15 toAbecome
REPORTmore
ONcompetitive.
ALBANIA Overall, the condition of the country is good and the positive part is
that it is improving. The country might not be the most competitive county in the world but

considering it as the transition economy it can be said that the country is in good position.

34
PWC (2020). Albania - Corporate - Taxes on corporate income. (2020). Retrieved 11
November 2020, from https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/albania/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-
income
 Reference

Baena-Rojas, J. J., & Herrero-Olarte, S. (2020). From Preferential Trade Arrangements to Free

Trade Agreements: One of the Downturns of Cooperation in International

Relations?. Social Sciences, 9(8), 139.

Beirne, K., Doorley, K., Regan, M., Roantree, B., & Tuda, D. (2020). The potential costs and

distributional effect of Covid-19 related unemployment in Ireland. Budget

16 Perspectives, 2021.
A REPORT ON ALBANIA

Ebbinghaus, B. (2020). Changing work and welfare: unemployment and labour market policies.

In Handbook on Society and Social Policy. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Grinin, L. E., & Korotayev, A. V. (2018). The future of the global economy in the light of

inflationary and deflationary trends and long cycles theory. World Futures, 74(2), 84-103.

Hurley, J., Morris, S., & Portelance, G. (2019). Examining the debt implications of the Belt and

Road Initiative from a policy perspective. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and

Development, 3(1), 139-175.

IMF (2020). Albania and the IMF. (2020). Retrieved 13 November 2020, from

https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/ALB#countrydata
 Jacob, W. J., & Gokbel, V. (2018). Global higher education learning outcomes and financial

trends: Comparative and innovative approaches. International Journal of Educational

Development, 58, 5-17.

Kaplan, E. A., & Akçoraoğlu, A. (2017). Political instability, corruption, and economic growth:

Evidence from a panel of OECD countries. Business and Economics Research

Journal, 8(3), 363.

Knoema.com (2020). Budget deficit in Albania - knoema.com. (2020). Retrieved 13 November

2020, from https://knoema.com/data/budget-deficit+albania

Liu, G., & Zhang, C. (2020). Economic policy uncertainty and firms' investment and financing

decisions in China. China Economic Review, 63, 101279.

Moynihan, D., & Beazley, I. (2016). Toward next-generation performance budgeting: Lessons

17 A REPORT ON ALBANIA
from the experiences of seven reforming countries. The World Bank.

Mujtaba, A., Jena, P. K., & Mukhopadhyay, D. (2020). Determinants of CO 2 emissions in upper

middle-income group countries: an empirical investigation. Environmental Science and

Pollution Research, 27(30), 37745-37759.

Oec.world (2020). Albania (ALB) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners. (2020). Retrieved 10

November 2020, from https://oec.world/en/profile/country/alb

Palley, T. (2018). Recovering Keynesian Phillips curve theory: hysteresis of ideas and the natural

rate of unemployment. Review of Keynesian Economics, 6(4), 473-492.

Privacyshield.gov (2020). Albania - Trade Agreements | Privacy Shield. (2020). Retrieved 10

November 2020, from https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=Albania-Trade-

 Agreements#:~:text=Albania%20is%20a%20member%20of,Serbia%2C%20and

%20Bosnia%20and%20Herzegovina.&text=Albania%20also%20has%20an

%20FTA,entered%20into%20force%20in%202008.

PWC (2020). Albania - Corporate - Taxes on corporate income. (2020). Retrieved 11 November

2020, from https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/albania/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income

Radonshiqi, R. (2017). International Trade and Trade Relations in Albania. Noble International

Journal of Business and Management Research, 1(3), 68-73.

Schwab, K. (2018). The global competitiveness report 2018. In World Economic Forum (pp. 9-

14).

Singh, G., Gupta, R., & Agarwal, N. (2020). Economic Re-Engineering: Covid-19. Singh, G.,

Gupta, R. and Agarwal, (2020), 01-05.

18 A REPORT ON ALBANIA

Statista, (2020). Albania - budget balance in relation to GDP 2009-2024 | Statista. (2020).
Retrieved 18 November 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/444538/albania-
budget-balance-in-relation-to-gdp/#:~:text=Albania's%20budget%20balance%20in
%20relation%20to%20GDP%202024&text=In%202018%2C%20Albania's%20budget
%20deficit,around%201.35%20percent%20of%20GDP.
Trang, N. T. N., & Hong, D. T. T. (2017). Nonlinear effects of oil prices on inflation, growth,

budget deficit, and unemployment. Journal of Economic Development, (JED, Vol. 24

(1)), 73-89.

Transparency.org (2020). Albania. (2019). Retrieved 11 November 2020, from

https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/albania#

Vasylieva, T. A., Lieonov, S. V., Liulov, O. V., & Kyrychenko, K. I. (2018). Macroeconomic

stability and its impact on the economic growth of the country.

 Wagner, B., Hauer, C., & Habersack, H. (2019). Current hydropower developments in

Europe. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 37, 41-49.

Weforum.org (2020). Retrieved 11 November 2020, from

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf

Wits.worldbank.org (2020). Albania trade balance, exports, imports by country 2018 | WITS

Data. (2020). Retrieved 10 November 2020, from

https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/ALB/Year/LTST/TradeFlow/EXPI

MP/Partner/by-country

Wits.worldbank.org (2020). Albania Trade Summary | WITS Data. (2020). Retrieved 10

November 2020, from

https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/ALB/Year/LTST/Summary
19 A REPORT ON ALBANIA
World Bank (2020a). GDP growth (annual %) - Albania | Data. (2020). Retrieved 10 November

2020, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?

end=2019&locations=AL&start=2010

World Bank (2020b). Inflation, consumer prices (annual %) - Albania | Data. (2020). Retrieved

13 November 2020, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG?

end=2019&locations=AL&start=2010

World Bank (2020c). Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) -

Albania | Data. (2020). Retrieved 13 November 2020, from

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?

end=2020&locations=AL&start=2010
 World Bank (2020d). Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) - Albania | Data. (2020).

Retrieved 10 November 2020, from

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.IMP.GNFS.ZS?

end=2019&locations=AL&start=2010&view=chart

World Bank (2020e). Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) - Albania | Data. (2020).

Retrieved 10 November 2020, from

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS?

end=2019&locations=AL&start=2010

World Bank (2020f). Ease of doing business index (1=most business-friendly regulations) | Data.

(2020). Retrieved 13 November 2020, from

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ

20 A REPORT ON ALBANIA
World Bank (2020g). Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) - Albania | Data.

(2020). Retrieved 11 November 2020, from

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.CD.WD?locations=AL

Yared, P. (2019). Rising government debt: Causes and solutions for a decades-old trend. Journal

of Economic Perspectives, 33(2), 115-40.