Enterprise Survey 2009

The study was conducted using stratified random sampling. Three levels of stratification were used in this country: industry, establishment size, and oblast (region).

Industry stratification was designed in the way that follows: the universe was stratified into 23 manufacturing industries, 2 services industries -retail and IT-, and one residual sector. The manufacturing sector had a target of 75 interviews, the services sector had a target of 55 interviews, and the residual sector had a target of 70 interviews.

Size stratification was defined following the standardized definition for the rollout: small (5 to 19 employees), medium (20 to 99 employees), and large (more than 99 employees). For stratification purposes, the number of employees was defined on the basis of reported permanent full-time workers. This seems to be an appropriate definition of the labor force since seasonal/casual/part-time employment is not a common practice, except in the sectors of construction and agriculture.

Regional stratification was defined in five regions. These regions are Tirane, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, and Vlora.

Given the stratified design, sample frames containing a complete and updated list of establishments for the selected regions were required. Great efforts were made to obtain the best source for these listings. However, the quality of the sample frames was not optimal and, therefore, some adjustments were needed to correct for the presence of ineligible units. These adjustments are reflected in the weights computation.

For most countries covered in BEEPS IV, two sample frames were used. The first was supplied by the World Bank and consisted of enterprises interviewed in BEEPS 2005. The World Bank required that attempts should be made to re-interview establishments responding to the BEEPS 2005 survey where they were within the selected geographical regions and met eligibility criteria. That sample is referred to as the Panel.

The Investment Climate survey conducted for the World Bank in Albania in 2007/8 showed that a suitable second frame did not exist for the country. Instead, the design returned to first principles, using a blocks enumeration methodology. Detailed maps of major cities were obtained from aerial mappings projected to a usable scale. They served as the basis of a multi-stage approach: Each city was divided into blocks and then the blocks were classified into strata defined by the predominant spatial use, using local knowledge. The classifications used for the blocks included industrial, commercial, commercial/residential (mixed), and residential coding. Blocks were selected and enumerated; building by building, floor by floor. Each separate unit was identified, classified as to use and in the case of business establishments further details collected as to employee numbers, activity, name, and phone number. This enumeration was then employed to project to universe totals by reference to the screening results and the number of blocks in each stratum. The establishments enumerated in those blocks were then used as the frame for the selection of the Enterprise Survey 2007 sample. Additional enumeration was conducted in 2008 and details of that enumeration were sent to TNS's statistical team in London to combine the two sets and then to select the establishments for interview for BEEPS.

The quality of the frame was assessed at the onset of the project. The frame proved to be useful though it showed positive rates of non-eligibility, repetition, non-existent units, etc. These problems are typical of establishment surveys, but given the impact these inaccuracies may have on the results, adjustments were needed when computing the appropriate weights for individual observations. The percentage of confirmed non-eligible units as a proportion of the total number of contacts to complete the survey was 26% (122 out of 476 establishments).