Public administration reform in transition: reflections from the Albanian experience

This article investigates the contribution of public administration (PA) reforms to sustainable development, with particular reference to countries in transition. The case study of Albania is analysed with a specific focus on the scope, contents and sequence of reforms as well as on the role of international institutions. The Albanian transition clearly demonstrates how development achieved without paying attention to public administration and management can be easily reversible and hardly sustainable. Open issues include building consensus on a general prioritization of PA reform agendas in transition countries and identifying more effective approaches for evaluating reform projects. Further enquiry on the first point can help avoid incoherent reform initiatives, also exacerbated by the multitude of donors financing reforms in these countries, while a better evaluation could address the declining flows of foreign aid and benefit from an increasing results-oriented approach, in recipient countries, as well as in international institutions.