Documents Kalaj, Ermira 4 results

"This article analyses the relationship between corruption and income inequality in western Balkan countries in the period from 2012 to 2023. The International Labour Organization, Transparency International and World Development Indicators are the three sources of data used, while the Arellano and Bond (1991) generalized method of moments (GMM) technique is utilised to estimate the correlation between the Gini Index and the Corruption Perceptions Index. The dependent variable is income inequality measured by the Gini Index, while the vector of independent variables is composed of annual GDP per capita growth, the Consumer Price Index, the unemployment rate, openness to trade and the Corruption Perceptions Index. The regression results are univocal for the whole sample. However, corruption is contributing to the increased levels of income inequality in a couple of Balkan countries. The public might have a complex relationship with corruption, but countries could address the issue by institutional strengthening, denouncing corrupt officials, enhancing public transparency and encouraging media independence."

"This article focuses on the impact of remittances on labour market participation using propensity score matching. Using household survey data for Albania, this article relies on the matching approach for identification. Nearest neighbour and kernel estimators are used to obtain the matching results. The vector of covariates includes information related to individual and household characteristics, such as; age; gender; schooling; area of residence; etc. In the model, household incomes are considered separately from remittances in order to identify whether income from remittances has the same effect as other types of household non-labour income in the decision as to whether or not to participate in the labour market. Empirical results show that remittances have a statistically negative impact as regards the labour market participation of women, both in terms of the probability of working and in terms of their hours of work. However, no evidence is found for the impact of such capital flows in the behaviour of men in their labour market activities."

"The public health sector is affected by various factors that contribute to or inhibit its effectiveness. Successful public policy in health care must address such challenges as employment, income, facilities and equipment, as well as medical staff training and improvement. The research on which this article is based analyses the link between media, democracy, corruption, labour migration and the public health care system in Albania through analysis of data from the World Bank, Heritage Foundation and the IMF, as well as primary data, and using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Our conclusions show that the public health care system in Albania is negatively affected by corruption. The media and democracy both have a positive impact on public health care, while the export of professionals to other countries has a negative effect on the health care system. Albania is one of the poorest economies in Europe and the health care system needs major reform in order to eliminate corruption and reduce the outwards migration of professional workers"

"This article focuses on an analysis of the digitalisation of enterprises in Albania and its impact on their performance with a view to understanding better the role of digitalisation and the experience of private sector firms in this area. The research draws on an econometric analysis of World Bank data examining firms' experiences and their perceptions of their operating environment. After setting the scene with an overview of the types and size of enterprises in Albania, the article focuses on digitalisation, the level of which is generally low, and seeks answers to a number of research questions. The authors conclude that, while the impact of digitalisation on performance is positive and statistically significant, achieved chiefly via increased business activity online, there is a need to understand better what this means in practice as well as to explore the lack of statistical significance, despite the presence of a positive relationship, of other variables examined in the course of the analysis. Further work is also needed to understand how firms will approach digitalisation in the future after the economic shocks of Covid-19. "