Key socioeconomic factors influencing sustainability and economic development: Evidence from the emerging market

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Abstract

Socioeconomic factors exert multifaceted influences on a country’s economic performance, shaping both its short-term fluctuations and long-term sustainability. Among the most significant determinants are education, fertility, birth rates, and labor force participation, which interact dynamically and affect broader macroeconomic outcomes. This study investigates the relationship between key socioeconomic variables and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the Durana region, Albania’s most densely populated and economically active area. Demographic changes in this region have been substantial, particularly following post-communist migration and sociopolitical transformations. The purpose of the study is to analyze the impact of socioeconomic factors on GDP per capita. The theoretical model of this study is based on Pardi et al. (2024). The methodology of the study is based on three methods: first difference, ordinary least squares (OLS), and generalized method of moments (GMM). The findings indicate considerable variability in coefficient estimates, with the GMM (Cruz & Ahmed, 2018) emerging as the most robust specification to analyze the impact of socioeconomic variables on GDP per capita. Results reveal that socioeconomic factors exert both immediate and lagged effects on economic performance: education contributes significantly over the long term, whereas fertility rates and labor force participation show the strongest short-term impacts on GDP per capita.

Keywords: GDP per Capita, Education, Work Force, Population Growth, Fertility, Durana

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization—A.B. and F.M.; Methodology—F.M.; Formal Analysis—A.B.; Investigation—F.M. and M.M.; Resources—A.B. and E.K.; Writing—Original Draft—A.B. and E.K.; Writing—Review & Editing—A.B. and F.M.; Supervision—F.M. and M.M.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: I25, J13, J21, O15, O47

Received: 11.11.2025
Revised: 30.01.2026; 28.03.2026; 03.04.2026
Accepted: 16.04.2026
Published online: 20.04.2026

How to cite this paper: Balla, A., Kostrista, E., Merko, F., & Mema, M. (2026). Key socioeconomic factors influencing sustainability and economic development: Evidence from the emerging market. Corporate Governance and Sustainability Review, 10(3), 40–52. https://doi.org/10.22495/cgsrv10i3p3