Mike Belschner
Geo 101
12-1-14
Economic Issue- The rise and fall of.. This article is a huge reason and revelation to the huge collapse of the Albanian economy
17 years ago and even to this day. The rise and fall of the Pyramid Schemes in Albania at the time was a huge reason they had success, and a huge reason why they are where they are financially today. About two thirds of the Albanian population invested into the schemes, and at their peak, it amounted to almost half of the country’s GDP. When the schemes finally collapsed, there was uncontained rioting, the government fell, and the country descended into anarchy and a near civil war in which 2,000 people lost their lives. Obviously back then in the 1990’s the computer era hadn’t really hit yet, so it was basically all people in and around Albania. As the article states, “for centuries, Albania had been largely unknown and inaccessible, and, from 1945 to 1985, its isolation was compounded by the rigid communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, which eliminated almost all forms of private property and virtually cut the country off from outside influences and information.” This was a classic case of a pyramid scheme, as the people of the country trusted the dictator and the only three big banks that gave out loans, were taking money and starting to invest in what they thought was right. In turn, many government officials were accused of benefiting from the companies who invested. These schemes in turn