1. LABOR OUTFLOWS
FROM ALBANIA
In the light of the New Economics of Labor Migration
Marcin Senderski
University of Warsaw
Faculty of Economic Sciences
Presented: 22 January 2010

2.  A poor family is considered to be one that
does not have a member who can emigrate
abroad.
 A respondent from the town of Gramshi
 De Soto H., Gordon P., Gedeshi I., Sinoimeri Z., Poverty in Albania. A
Qualitative Assessment, 2002.

3.  Introduction with timelines
 Migration flows and their determinants
 Brain drain and other consequences for the
sending country
 Remittance flows
 Migration networks
 Theorization attempt and conclusions

4.  No political, lawful (and even criminal)
aspects, both for the sending and the
receiving countries
 No deep insight into temporary migration
and internal migration which are also
remarkable
 No insight into impacts for the receiving
countries

5.  Before 1944, to the USA and some Latin
American states. Economic push factors
responsible.
 Between 1945-1990, political factors
responsible, also emigration of quislings,
serious institutional barriers, so-called
‘embassy migrants’.
 After 1990, most significant, in the 1990s
absence of governmental control of
migration flows.

6.  1990, July 2: Migrants’ Day. Issuing of passports
was liberalized.
 1991: the boat exodus to Italy and the paralell
mass migration to Greece.
 1993-1996: migration stabilizes as the economy
grows.
 1997: mass migration following the ‘pyramid
crisis’.
 1999: emigration following the Kosovo crisis.
 2000 onwards: relative stability and
consolidation of emigrant communities abroad.

8.  In the early 1990s (…) Albania quickly
became the country with the highest
migration outflow in Europe, when
measured in terms of the ratio of migrants
to overall population.
 Albania's migration flow has (…) been five
times higher than the average migration
flow in developing countries.
 Barjaba K., Albania: Looking Beyound Borders, August 2004

9. PUSH FACTORS PULL FACTORS
 Poverty  A will to experience an
 Unemployment outside world (especially
 Scarce access to medical among young people in the
care early 1990s: ‘Hello Europe,
 Also extraordinary factors: I hope to find you well’
1997 collapse of various attitude)
financial pyramids, other  Educational motivations
shocks  Satisfying career interests

10.  Migrants are younger than their counterparts who
remained in Albania
 Migrants are predominantly men
 Households with migrants are bigger in size. However,
in the effect of migration, they become significantly
smaller
 Migrant households are by far older, following the
migration of the younger members
 The access to a well-established network is a powerful
determinant favoring migration
 Households with no migrants have a higher incidence of
poverty (inverse causality?)
 Educational levels and occupational profiles are similar

11. INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS INTERNAL MIGRANTS

12.  Geographical, cultural and linguistic
proximity most important.
 Italy and Greece in the 1990s, also Western
European countries (Germany, Switzerland,
United Kingdom).
 Nowadays, USA and Canada more popular
among the educated.

13.  Studies show that once abroad, many highly
educated emigrants do not work in their
areas of specialization, including 74 percent
in Greece, 67 percent in Italy, 58 percent in
Austria, and 70 percent in the United States.
(…) Albania's ‘brain drain’ is emerging as
‘brain waste’.
 Barjaba K., Albania: Looking Beyound Borders, August 2004

14.  Official estimates make remittances the
largest source of foreign exchange, greater
than the combined value of exports and
foreign direct investment and constituting
14 percent of GDP.
 International Monetary Fund, 2002.
 Trade deficit amounts to more than 20% of
GDP per year (2006).
 Vullnetari J., Albanian Migration and Development: State of the Art
Review, September 2007, p. 72.

15. Relationship to the head %
Spouse / partner 4
Son / daughter 55
Sister / brother 25
Other 12
Institution 3
Given the weakness of Albania’s banking system,
remittances are mainly sent to the country through
informal channels. The tendency to transfer money
through banks has increased only in recent years,
because of banking sector reforms and the decrease of
emigrants’ visits to their families in Albania.

16. Objective %
No specific use 37
Basic necessities 33
Purchase of durable goods 12
Medical expenses 9
Others 9
The amounts sent are higher for households in rural
areas and increase with the distance of remitters.
Remittances are of a significantly higher amount
when specifically destined to fund investment
(business or dwelling renovation) or the purchase of
durable goods.

17. Considered moving abroad? Yes No
Number of observations 2730 7411
Percentage 27 73
Why not? %
Does not want to 31
Too difficult 30
No need 24
Too costly 9
Other 6
Tried to move and failed? %
Yes 44
No 56

18.  Since every fifth Albanian lives abroad,
almost one half of all Albanian households
have access to migration networks.
 They serve as a catalyst for the migration of
family members of network migrants as well
as community members at the point of
origin.

19.  Decision to migrate is a joint household
decision (costs and benefits shared,
coinsurance possible)
 Relative deprivation (more important than
the absolute wage differentials)
 Migration networks as a catalyst for the
migration
 Migrants typically earn less

20.  Main characteristics of Albanian migration
 An important constituent of coping strategy
 Both permanent and temporary (do not appear to be
complements), but long-term if permanent
 Inspired by push factors
 The existence of migration network and previous
experience with migration are key determinants as
well
 Remittances not improving the situation of domestic
economy
 Inhabitants of Tirana are less likely to migrate
internationally

21.  Azzarri C., Carletto C., Modeling Migration Dynamics in
Albania: A Hazard Function Approach, 2009
 Barjaba K., Albania: Looking Beyond Borders, August 2004
 Barjaba K., Migration and Ethnicity in Albania: Synergies and
Interdependencies, 2004
 Carletto C., Davis B., Stampini M., Trento S., Zezza A.,
Internal Mobility and International Migration in Albania, June
2004
 Çaro E., van Wissen L.J.G., Migration in the Albania of the
post-1990s: triggered by post-communist transformations and
facilitator of socio-demographic changes, 2007
 Vullnetari J., Albanian Migration and Development: State of
the Art Review, September 2007

22.  Central and Eastern European Online Library, www.ceeol.com
 Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalization &
Poverty, www.migrationdrc.org
 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
www.fao.org
 Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, University of
Amsterdam, www.imiscoe.org
 Migration Policy Institute, www.migrationinformation.org
 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
www.oecd.org
 The World Bank, www.worldbank.org
 Watson Institute for International Studies,
www.watsoninstitute.org

23. Thank you for your attention
Marcin Senderski
msenderski@student.uw.edu.pl