Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are vital to Albania's economy but face significant financing challenges amid monetary tightening. Utilizing firm-level data from 2022-2023, this study documents that the abrupt interest rate increases in 2022 prompted a rise in alternative financing...

Whereas the Europeanisation of spatial planning in the Member States is extensively researched, few studies have focused on non-Member countries. To shed some light on the matter, this contribution analyses how the European Union (EU) has influenced spatial planning organisation and practices in...

Over the past decade, the Albanian banking sector has undergone a remarkable transformation amid strong macroeconomic performance and sound financial reforms. Nevertheless, pockets of vulnerability remain, including some that were identified during the IMF's 2014 Financial Sector Assessment...

In recent years, Albania has experienced a sustained appreciation of the domestic currency. This raises the questions of what factors are driving this appreciation and how to calibrate appropriate policy responses. Drawing on insights provided by the IMF's integrated policy framework (IPF), this...

This study evaluates the impact of investment in rural roads on household welfare in Albania. Using a difference-in-differences method, we find that treated households experienced a 35-percentage point increase in the quality of roads relative to control households and reduced travel times to...

The banking sector in the Western Balkan countries has changed dramatically in recent years. A variety of factors have contributed to these changes, such as economic growth, increased competition, and the implementation of new regulations. As a result, the profitability of the banking sector...

Economic governance is a key aspect of the EU enlargement process, mirroring efforts in the EU to strengthen economic policy coordination and multilateral surveillance under the European Semester. The Annual Economic and Financial Dialogue with Regional Partners aims to prepare these (potential)...

Albania is on track to be one of the fastest growing economies in Europe in 2024, underpinned by tourism and prudent macroeconomic policies. Despite this strong performance, GDP per capita stands at just around a quarter of the EU-15 level. The economy is also facing structural headwinds,...

The World Bank presents this report for the WB6 to provide an evidence-based policy narrative to showcase the opportunities for the WB6 transport sector to contribute to the green, resilient, and inclusive economic development (GRID) agenda. It discusses both passenger and freight transport....

The collapse of the communist dictatorship in Albania catalysed a series of profound transformations regarding the economic, political, institutional, legal, and social dimensions. These reforms were often rolled out haphazardly, lacking a coherent strategy, and were marred by intense political...

This report describes the bioeconomy policy developments in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine, associated to the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. The work extends the geographic coverage of the...

Migrationspolitik ist mittlerweile ein zentrales Thema bei Wahlen. In der Debatte um eine bessere Steuerung von Migration kommen wesentliche Aspekte allerdings zu kurz. So sind wir in Deutschland längst auf Erwerbsmigration angewiesen, zugewanderte Arbeitskräfte kompensieren den...

In vielen europäischen Staaten steigt die Zahl der Asylanträge ebenso wie der Zuspruch für rechtspopulistische Parteien weiter an. Initiativen wie der Ruanda-Plan der britischen Regierung und das Albanien-Abkommen der italienischen Regierung können als Reaktion darauf verstanden werden. Sie...

Following the fall of socialism in East and Southeast Europe, widespread destabilisation of living conditions was accompanied by immense skill and cost mismatches. Both of these factors continue to contribute to substantial levels of brain drain, brain waste and de-skilling. We propose and...

This report describes the employment and social situation of young people in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia - the WB6) and also looks at employment in Türkiye. It focuses on young people because they were particularly hard...

This report describes the employment and social situation of young people in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia - the WB6) and also looks at employment in Türkiye. It focuses on young people because they were particularly hard...

Soil contamination in the Western Balkans is a significant challenge, hampered by inadequate legal frameworks, lack of comprehensive field data, and insufficient site investigations. This report aims to support the JRC's efforts to fill information gaps on soil pollution across the Western...

The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is a research tool that is designed to identify potential risks to media pluralism in the Member States of the European Union and in Candidate Countries. This narrative report has been produced on the basis of the implementation of the MPM that was carried out...

The project's main aim is to strengthen cooperation within the Western Balkans and between the region and the EU on fighting organised crime and terrorism using modern tools and instruments. This will lead to an enhanced level of interaction and integration between the EU and the Western Balkan...

The project's main aim is to strengthen cooperation within the Western Balkans and between the region and the EU on fighting organised crime and terrorism using modern tools and instruments. This will lead to an enhanced level of interaction and integration between the EU and the Western Balkan...

ECDC is helping countries in the Western Balkans and Türkiye to improve their infectious disease prevention and control systems and public health workforce to prepare them for their future participation in ECDC's work. Technical cooperation with Western Balkans and Türkiye aims to improve...

The importance of the development of teachers' digital competence for successful digital education and training and of their role in developing students' digital competence has been recognised in recent European policies on digital education (DEAP 2021-2027; European Commission 2020) and on the...

The importance of the development of teachers' digital competence for successful digital education and training and of their role in developing students' digital competence has been recognised in recent European policies on digital education (DEAP 2021-2027; European Commission 2020) and on the...

Motivated by migration phenomena and wage-inflation spillovers, we investigate the relationship between the two and the inflationary remittances built-in pressures. We establish a feedback loop between migration and inflation, and specify a simple dynamic model to identify the pass-through. Our...

In this study, we chose to conduct a gender-based contextual analysis of research-performing organizations (RPOs) in the higher-education sector in Albania as a first step toward the implementation of gender budgeting (GB). Our rationale for conducting such a contextual analysis is the...

Migrationspolitik ist mittlerweile ein zentrales Thema bei Wahlen. In der Debatte um eine bessere Steuerung von Migration kommen wesentliche Aspekte allerdings zu kurz. So sind wir in Deutschland längst auf Erwerbsmigration angewiesen, zugewanderte Arbeitskräfte kompensieren den...

The 2023 Article IV Consultation discusses that the Albanian economy has shown remarkable resilience in the face of consecutive shocks. Returning inflation to target will likely require some further increases in the policy rate. The rising role of tourism has boosted confidence in the country's...

Since 25 June 2024, the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) have been engaging in accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. The EU wants and needs to provide a strategic response to new geopolitical challenges, especially the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. At the same...

This paper empirically analyses the determining factors of the growth in the migration rate in the countries of the Western Balkans. The analysis is carried out with panel data over 17 years from 2005 to 2021. The purpose of this paper is to analyse social variables such as unemployment and...