Politics of Corruption in Albanian Higher Education

This paper examines the persistent issue of corruption in Albania, which continues to plague crucial areas of higher education such as learning assessment. Emphasising the significant impact of political influence on student evaluations, the article draws on survey results to address the issue. It suggests that this influence stems from historical factors and current political dynamics. In addition, the paper analyzes the exploitation of anti-corruption rhetoric in higher education as a tool for political control, and discusses the considerable challenges which anti-corruption campaigns face due to political interference and institutional resistance. In conclusion, the paper argues that a holistic approach, considering historical, institutional, and political contexts, is essential for effectively observing corruption in higher education

The Evolution of Village (Self)Governance in the Context of Post‐Communist Rural Society

The role of the village headman and council of elders is very important in many societies. The focus of this article is to analyse the evolution and the role of the (informal) intermediary institutions and actors in the context of changing society’s patterns and political landscape transformations. This article focuses on Albania and Kosovo, where village self-governing mechanisms played a crucial role in avoiding (often deadly) social conflicts during the post-communism transition. The article relies on in-depth interviews with involved actors at the local level, using the framework of evolutionary governance theory. The study shows that the role of the council of elders and village headman has been strong and important in times of weak central and local governance, while it weakened in times of strong politicization and increasingly patronizing role of the central government, thus not allowing for a right balance between legitimate community representation and accountability toward upper levels of governance

Consumer preferences for goatkid meat in Albania

The objective of this paper is to analyse consumer preferences for goat-kid meat attributable to the market potential of mountainous areas and the valorisation opportunities arising from the certification of origin. The study explores consumer preferences toward the main attributes of goat-kid meat such as origin, weight and quality-certification. A Conjoint Choice Experiment was utilised to design the survey and a Latent Class Analysis Model employed to analyse the results of a survey carried out with 250 residents living in urban areas of Tirana. Origin was found to be the most important factor for all three identified consumer classes. This result can be used to producers’ advantage if labelling and other marketing tools are available to inform consumers of the products’ origin. Implementation and enforcement of origin identification should be a priority for the government and other stakeholders

Emerging consumer preference for wine attributes in a European transition country – the case of Kosovo

This study analyzes consumer preferences for wine in Prishtina, Kosovo – a transition country in the Balkans, which is making efforts to withstand to the competition pressure from the traditional neighboring wine producing countries. With the changes in life style and consumer behavior, and incomes rising rapidly since the last conflict, it is imperative to survey the changing demand for producers to compete in the domestic markets. Conjoint Choice Experiments were used to evaluate wine consumer preferences based on wine type (white vs. red), origin (domestic vs. imported), taste (sweet vs. dry) and price. Four distinct classes of consumers were identified. The top two important attributes in the choice of wine are the type and origin but preferences vary across groups – type of wine and origin appear far more important when compared to price, especially for the richest identified segment, whose consumers prefer more expensive wines

Assessing consumer preferences and willingness to pay for organic tomatoes in Albania: a conjoint choice experiment study

Albania has potential for developing the organic agriculture sector; however, it is a new industry and constraints abound including lack of consumer preferences information for organic food. Knowledge on consumer preferences and behaviour toward organic (bio) products is crucial for market development benefiting potential entrepreneurs and government policies. They need to know the preference for preferred product attributes and willingness to pay. Tomato, which is the most important vegetable in terms of consumption and production in Albania, is the subject of this study. A conjoint choice experiment with the most important product attributes: production type (bio vs. conventional), production system (open field vs. greenhouse), origin and price were used to design the choice surveys. Four distinct classes have been identified as significant using latent class analysis. The classes are summarized as: bio-ready consumers, price sensitive consumers, variety seeking consumers and quality seeking consumers. Origin played a small influence on preference. Education and income did show some influence on preference for organic tomatoes. Although the organic food market in Albania is in its infancy stage, organic tomatoes are clearly preferred and many consumers are willing to pay a premium price

The impact of crop rotation and land fragmentation on farm productivity in Albania

In this study, we estimate the impact of land fragmentation and crop rotation on farm productivity in rural Albania. We employ a stochastic production frontier estimation approach to survey data collected among farm households in Albania in 2013. Our estimates suggest that land fragmentation improves farm efficiency, probably because it permits a better use of household labour during the production seasons. Our estimates also suggest that crop rotation increases farm efficiency. However, the impact of land fragmentation on on farm efficiency is far more pronounced

Analysis of urban consumer preferences for honey in the context of a transition economy – A case study for Albania

Summary This paper aims to analyze urban consumer preferences for Albanian honey, focusing on key product attributes such as origin, type, location and price, using a conjoint choice experiment and latent class approach. Origin and location-landscape were found to be the most important factors for most surveyed consumers. Albanian consumers prefer honey produced in mountainous forests and on pastures. Moreover, multi-flower honey is preferred compared to chestnuts honey. These results can be used to producers' advantage when local branding and well-perceived certification (e.g., producer associations' brands) would be applied in order to increase the consumer awareness and strengthen the intrinsic features of the product especially for small producers. Labeling should be clear and emphasize the origin as well as the natural landscape where beehives are kept. Furthermore, in its regionalization economic development policy, the government may consider supporting honey produced from the mountainous areas

The role of rural development funds in EU pre-accession countries: the case of IPARD II

The European Union is a key strategical priority for the pre-accession countries in the Western Balkan and Turkey. The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) assists countries aspiring for EU membership to prepare their institutional and administrative capacities for future compliance in all sectors including agriculture and rural development. Apart from the financing component, the role of IPARD is much broader in preparing the preaccession countries for effective implementation of structural and rural development funds upon accession. This paper aims to provide a comparative cross-country analysis on the IPARD programme 2014-2020 (IPARD II) funding of the current beneficiaries (Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey). The main derived indicators include the use of IPARD II funding, measures and absorption rates. IPARD II payments are effectuated in all candidate countries from 2019, while payments started earlier in 2017 in Turkey and in 2018 in North Macedonia. With the prolonged start of the IPARD II programme, significant amount of the available funds remains unused, and the number of implemented measures is still limited. There are noticeable country differences in terms of expenditure among measures, but overall, the largest share of used funds so far is dedicated to investments in physical assets in primary production and processing. All countries have established some form of institutional and administrative capacities for implementing the agricultural and rural development policies, especially for the IPARD funds. Still, there is a need for additional capacity building, due to numerous factors, among which the dynamic environment with many continuously changing aspects (CAP reform, accession methodology, climate change or issues arising from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemics). Further promoting the programme, strengthening the national institutions’ set-up and capacity, aligning to the beneficiaries needs, and supporting them in preparing viable or sustainable projects are recommendations for better use of the current funds, as well as for the preparation of IPARD III cycle