Albania

Abstract

Regional free trade agreements (FTAs) have a sizable effect on exports and foster economic growth. While reducing tariffs in member countries, regional FTAs harmonize trade policy across regions and reduce regulation uncertainty for exporters. They are particularly important for supporting trade in isolated countries such as Albania, a transition economy in the Western Balkans. This policy note looks at the impact of membership in the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) on Albania's export growth. It finds that Albanian exports to CEFTA members have grown much faster than its exports to other countries. A large share of this growth is contributed by firms that did not export to CEFTA countries previously and via new exports that were among the least traded to CEFTA countries. We also measure the impact of CEFTA on Albanian exports using a gravity equation, which finds that CEFTA increased Albanian exports to member countries between 34 percent and 144 percent.