Overview
Albania’s comprehensive decentralization reform has had positive effects on local service delivery in spite of deficiencies in the public financial management (PFM) of municipalities. At the same time, Albania is taking measures to strengthen local PFM. The case of Albania offers insights on how to make local governance reforms effective.
The findings presented in this short note are based on qualitative interviews undertaken in three Albanian municipalities (Elbasan, Lezha, and Shkodra), each with four service delivery units and a municipal finance department. The interviews were conducted in 2019.
