When I was in Amsterdam at the Rijks Museum a couple years ago  I discovered the 17th century paintings of Albanians by the excellent painter Jean Baptiste Vanmour. Similarly, in 2015, I made another great finding when I was in Brussels, the capital of the EU and the arts world with renowned names such as Rene Magritte and extraordinary architects like Victor Horta, at the Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR).

Michael Gove, UK Justice Minister and Brexit campaign leader, proclaimed that after a successful leave vote, the UK could trade with the EU/Single Market like the three impoverished countries of “Bosnia, Serbia and Albania.” These western Balkan countries are EU candidate states and have a constricting free trade agreement with the bloc covering certain goods and some financial services.

The four main symptoms of the economic crisis that has gripped the country since 2011 are: extremely difficult to access credit, falling aggregate demand, high unemployment and low FDI levels. Following the external shocks from the Great Recession and sovereign debt crises in Greece and Italy (Albania’s largest trading partners and financiers), the economic growth in Albania has been insignificant – straddling the 2 per cent of the GDP mark—relative to the economy’s size.

The English philosopher Francis Bacon once said, "randomness leads to great discoveries."

Albania is in the midst of significant change. The new coalition government of the Socialist Party (SP) – led by the prime minister and the former Mayor of Tirana, Edi Rama – and the Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) – led by the speaker of parliament and the former SP prime minister, Ilir Meta – was voted by an overwhelming majority in the general election a year and half ago for the “rebirth” of the country’s economy, state and charged with improving living standards for Albanians. What Edi Rama found when taking office was a devastated economy marred with huge debt and lawlessness.

The primary purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the economic myths present in the Albanian political economy discourse, as well as to publish new and alternative ideas on how to overcome the economic crises. Debating ideas, when done properly, is determinant for the civilization of any society, especially for the Albanians, who suffer from a chronic lack of alternative ideas.

Crimea’s regional Parliament voted to become independent a week before it held its referendum asking whether to remain part of Ukraine or reunite with Russia. Last week, Crimea has become a de facto and de jure part of Russia. Interestingly, the independence bill referenced the precedent of Kosovo’s independence. It strikes me that there is more than just hypocrisy in this comparison, rightly deemed “shameful” by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Albania is not Japan, but like in Japan the solution to economic problems is for the economists and politicians to use reason and be a bit daring. What is missing from the economic program of the leftist government is a new vision for exploiting official and not monetary and financial methods to achieve higher economic growth levels.