World Bank2013-03-122013-03-122011-06https://hdl.handle.net/10986/12650Since its emergence from a turbulent post-communist transition, Albania has achieved remarkable progress in economic and social development. Governance improvements, especially in the effectiveness of public administration, have been instrumental to the country's impressive economic performance and improved human development outcomes. The Government has taken steps to improve public order and personal safety, particularly through efforts to crack down on violent and organized crime. Despite these positive developments, Albania continues to face significant governance challenges that will need to be overcome if the country is to achieve critical development objectives. Enduring politicization of the public administration and incomplete separation of powers, exemplified by instances of political interference in judicial processes, remain serious obstacles. The Government recognizes the need to accelerate progress on several dimensions of governance reform, particularly in light of its aspirations to European Union (EU) accession. This issue brief seeks to analyze the nature and recent evolution of Albania's governance environment, to identify the principal governance constraints to the achievement of development priorities-overall and in key sectors, and to outline recommendations for the way forward.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMSACCOUNTINGANTI CORRUPTIONANTI-CORRUPTIONANTICORRUPTIONAUTHORITYBEST PRACTICESBRIBEBRIBERYBRIBESBUREAUCRACYBUSINESS ASSOCIATIONSBUSINESS CLIMATEBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTBUSINESS SECTORCITIZENCITIZENSCIVIL SOCIETYCOLLAPSECOMMUNISMCOMMUNISTCONFIDENCECONSENSUSCONSTITUTIONCONTRACT ENFORCEMENTCORRUPTIONCORRUPTION PERCEPTIONSCORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEXCOUNTRY'S COMPETITIVENESSCOURT SYSTEMCPICPI METHODOLOGYCPI SCORECPI SCORESCRIMECRIME RATESCRIMINALCRIMINAL JUSTICECRIMINALITYCRIMINALSDEMOCRACYDEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCEDEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONSDIRECT INVESTMENTDRUG TRAFFICKINGDUE PROCESSECONOMIC CRIMESECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC PERFORMANCEENFORCEMENT MECHANISMENTERPRISE SURVEYSETHICEXTERNAL ACCOUNTABILITYEXTORTIONEXTRADITIONFINANCIAL ASSISTANCEFINANCIAL SYSTEMFISCAL MANAGEMENTFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTFOREIGN POLICYFREE PRESSGOVERNANCE CHALLENGESGOVERNANCE CONSTRAINTSGOVERNANCE ENVIRONMENTGOVERNANCE FAILURESGOVERNANCE ISSUESGOVERNANCE OUTCOMESGOVERNANCE PROBLEMSGOVERNANCE QUALITYGOVERNANCE REFORMGOVERNANCE REFORMSGOVERNMENT AGENCIESGOVERNMENT AUTHORITYGOVERNMENT EFFECTIVENESSGOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONSGOVERNMENT PERFORMANCEGOVERNMENT POLICIESGOVERNMENT SPENDINGGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONGRAND CORRUPTIONHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUMAN RESOURCEHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENTHUMAN RIGHTSIMPROVING GOVERNANCEINCOME LEVELSINEQUALITYINFORMAL PAYMENTSINITIATIVEINSTITUTIONAL CAPACITYINSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTINSTITUTIONAL MEASURESINTEGRITYINTERNAL AUDITINTERNAL SECURITYINTERNATIONAL COMMUNITYINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONSINTERNATIONAL PRESSUREINTERNATIONAL SUPPORTINVESTIGATIONINVESTIGATIONSINVESTMENT CLIMATEJUDICIAL FRAMEWORKJUDICIAL INDEPENDENCEJUDICIAL PROCESSESJUDICIAL REFORMJUDICIAL SYSTEMJUDICIARYJUSTICEKICKBACKSKIDNAPPINGLAW ENFORCEMENTLAWSLEADERSHIPLEGAL DRAFTINGLEGAL FRAMEWORKLEGAL FRAMEWORKSLEGISLATIONLEGISLATIVE CHANGESLEGISLATIVE MEASURESLEGISLATURELEGITIMACYLIVING STANDARDSLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOOTINGMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMARKET ECONOMYMEDIAMEMBER STATESMINISTERMINISTERSMONEY LAUNDERINGMURDERNATIONAL INCOMENATIONAL LAWSNATIONSNONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONSOFFENSESORGANIZED CRIMEPARLIAMENTPERCEPTION OF CORRUPTIONPERFORMANCE INDICATORSPERFORMANCE STANDARDSPOLICEPOLICY INCONSISTENCYPOLITICAL CHANGEPOLITICAL CONTROVERSYPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOLITICAL INSTABILITYPOLITICAL INTERFERENCEPOLITICAL LEADERSHIPPOLITICAL PARTIESPOLITICAL SYSTEMPOLITICIANSPRIME MINISTERPRIORITIESPRIVATIZATIONPROCUREMENTPROPERTY RIGHTSPROSECUTIONPROSECUTORPUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONPUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC EXPENDITURE MANAGEMENTPUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC INSTITUTIONSPUBLIC OFFICIALPUBLIC OFFICIALSPUBLIC OPINIONPUBLIC POLICYPUBLIC PROCUREMENTPUBLIC PROCUREMENT CONTRACTSPUBLIC RESOURCESPUBLIC SECTORPUBLIC SECTOR CORRUPTIONPUBLIC SERVICEPUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERYPUBLIC SERVICE USERSPUBLIC SPENDINGPURCHASING POWERPURCHASING POWER PARITYPYRAMID SCHEMESREGULATORY FRAMEWORKSREGULATORY INSTITUTIONSREGULATORY MEASURESREGULATORY POLICIESREGULATORY POLICYREGULATORY QUALITYREPRESSIONRULE OF LAWSEPARATION OF POWERSSERVICE DELIVERYSOCIAL CHANGESOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL INTERACTIONSSOCIAL STRUCTURESTATE AUTHORITIESSTATE BUDGETSTATE CONTROLSTATE FAILURESTATE INSTITUTIONSTAX ADMINISTRATIONTAX RATETAX RATESTAX REGULATIONSTAX RETURNSTAXATIONTERRORISMTHEFTTRANSPARENCYTRIALSVIOLENCEWORLDWIDE GOVERNANCE INDICATORSZERO TOLERANCEWorld Bank10.1596/12650