Informal and Formal Economy, Corruption and European Union: The Modern Albanian Economy and its Flaws

The formerly Soviet Union and Eastern European nations have been working towards a switch from a centrally planned to a free-market economy for the past 30 years and Albania is one of them. Albania has made multiple attempts for the country to enter the European Union without success. The reason for this is the unjust government administration as well as the court system, organized criminality, the informal economy, lack of basic human rights, and vote-buying by politicians. While the county has had years of reformation and change, the EU continues to ignore Albania's request by adding more conditions. My thesis argues that the delay of Albania entering the EU as well as the poor management of the informal sector of the economy could be managed if the Balkan countries cooperate in solving their main issues, despite their many differences. This paper considers all the problems and possible solutions that could be beneficial in the long run using data and statistics from the World Bank as well as comparisons with neighboring countries. Following that, there is a discussion on the main three categories discussed in the paper which were corruption, economic development, and the market sector as well as acceptance into the EU.