Contents: Preface Part I: Assessment: The Reasons for the Crisis 1. The Apparent Rapid Success of the Balkan Tiger 2. The Profound Crisis in Industry 3. Difficulties in Emerging Services 4. The Missing Pillar: The Inadequacy of the Banking System 5. The Unemployment Shock 6. Impoverishment Wages and Incomes 7. The Avoidance of Social Dialogue and Participation 8. The Failure of the Mass Privatisation Programme 9. Limitations and Drawbacks of Foreign Capital 10. The Collapse of the Albanian Pyramid Part II: Prospects: Albania after the Storm 11. The Extent of the Destruction 12. A Halt to Economic Activity 13. Macroeconomic Indicators Moving Backwards 14. The Social Abyss 15. Reviving Production Forces 16. Reviving Life Forces Bibliography Index
Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead, Professor, University of Geneva, Switzerland and Sciences Po, Paris, France
'. . . a comprehensive and timely overview of one of the least
known and least understood of the transition economies, Albania . .
. the book is an excellent overview of events in Albania during the
past decade. It assembles an impressive range of data and other
information about Albania and presents in a very accessible manner.
The surveys, in particular, provide a wealth of useful information
and can be very helpful in shaping future policies. The author
presents the main arguments in a very clear and cogent manner . . .
I hope and expect that this valuable book will do much to stimulate
further debate and research about Albania.'
*Peter Sanfey, Journal of Comparative Economics*
'This book provides an analysis of economic developments in Albania
since 1990, with particular emphasis on the political, economic,
and social collapse of 1997. It is, on the whole, an excellent,
thoroughly researched book . . . this is far and away the finest
book on the Albanian economy in the 1990s to have appeared thus
far.'
*Adi Schnytzer, Slavic Review*
'Albania in Crisis will be of great interest not only to those
international organizations and experts working on the
reconstruction of Albania, but also to other policymakers in the
region, and to anybody with a professional, academic or general
interest in the "transition".'
*Elizabeth Goodson, International Labour Review*
'One of the most comprehensive economic analyses on Albania. Based
on personal experience, Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead's book is an
excellent alternative approach to the Albanian 1997 crisis
explanation. It represents a deep insight into the social problems
of a poor but still promising country. Surveys and the enormous
work with data are a great help in designing sustainable policies
for recovery and growth . . . it will be an excellent addition to
the scarce literature on Albania.'
*Marta Muco, Bank of Albania, Albania*
'During the early 1990s the Albanian economic performance was often
lauded as one of the success stories on the path to systematic
transformation and its policies as worthy of emulation by other
countries in transition. The astonishing reversal in economic
fortunes that followed and the accompanying social conflicts have
led some to question that optimism and the general relevance of
orthodox prescriptions. But this book - which is informed by
extensive field work and findings from a large enterprise-level
data set - is the first to provide a critical, comprehensive
account and analysis of the Albanian experience. The volume - and
especially its provocative findings - will be of considerable
interest to social scientists and policymakers who are interested
in promoting sustainable reform in former communist countries.'
*Derek C. Jones, James L. Ferguson Professor of Economics, Hamilton
College, US*
'This is a riveting, first-hand, unique account of the spectacular
rise and fall of the Albanian economy in transition. From a good
observation point (ILO) and on the strength of a large scale
enquiry into over 1,000 enterprises over three years, Daniel
Vaughan-Whitehead helps us understand the 1997 reversal and crisis,
which was not just unleashed by the banking pyramid's collapse but
was predictably rooted in the fragility of earlier achievements and
their large-scale social costs. The book is of very great value not
only to country specialists but to anybody with a professional,
academic or general interest in the "transition".'
*D. Mario Nuti, University of Rome 'La Sapienza' , Italy and London
Business School, UK*
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