Sustainable Market Adaptation in Higher Education: A Comparative Case Study of EU Pre-Accession Countries of Albania and North Macedonia

Abstract

This master's thesis analyses the competitive and environmental market relations of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) sector in Albania and North Macedonia. It assesses the economic actions, market structures, and legal order surrounding HEIs regarding EU competition policy. The comparative study indicates that Albania and North Macedonia have truly advanced in meeting the EU competition benchmarks, which warrants consumer protection and competition legislation changes. The high market concentration, which faces both weak laws and limited administrative capacity, creates hurdles for a robust education system. Some primaries, like the willingness of HEIs to accept EU Green Agenda Streams and the absence of green campus concepts, stand in the way of achieving a sustainable curriculum. This research mainly aims to signal to those in power, like the government, the needed actions to improve the market conditions, allowing foreign investment and greater innovation within the sector. In this research, challenges and opportunities that arise in the sector of education sector are to be pronounced. Recommendations are made for consideration of cooperation between some public and private sector operatives in Albania and North Macedonia, improvement of regulation, and the establishment of innovative and sustainable educational systems that could include green market and green economy needs.