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Project 4b
Migration and the Poverty Transition
in Albania
Summary
Income poverty in Albania is an overwhelming rural phenomenon
and in the last decade rural areas have been characterised by high
levels of migration both to urban destinations within Albania and
to international destinations. In addition to evidence from the
Albanian Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS), several surveys
of migration and poverty have been conducted by CESS in the last
2-3 years, which provide the basis for a better understanding of
the relationship between poverty and migration in the Albanian context.
Taken together, these data provide a rich set of material on migration
choices and the relationship with poverty, and a number of initial
observations can be made.
First, it is clear that migration peaked in Albania during two recent
economic crises, in 1991-93, and again after the pyramid scandal
in 1997, suggesting that international migration does represent
a response to crisis. At the same time, the household surveys in
Korçë suggest that around a fifth of household income
overall is provided by migrant remittances, suggesting that migration
is also an important livelihood diversification strategy. There
is also some evidence to suggest that the Greek minority, as well
as Romanian and Macedonian minorities, do better than Albanian migrants
as a whole. In contrast, Roma and Egypt migrants do worse.
The purpose of this project is to further explore these questions
through the construction of models of the relationship between migration
and poverty in Albania, as well as to collect additional data in
four districts of Albania to complete the CESS data set and complement
it with in-depth material on migration choices.
Key Research Questions
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What is the influence of different socioeconomic
and demographic factors on migration choices and outcomes? |
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Specifically, for the poorest migrants,
what kind of options are available, and how do they evaluate
different migration options? Do stress migrants fare differently
to those moving to mitigate shocks? |
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Does the poverty status of migrants before
departure influence their experiences whilst abroad? Are there
other factors that influence the likelihood of receiving low
wages or experiencing hazardous working conditions, or contribute
to low school enrolment? |
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What are the experiences of migration of
different ethnic groups in Albania? What explanations can be
put forward for the different experiences of different groups? |
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What is the effect of private transfers
on poverty, and what are the implications of this for social
policy? |
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Key Theme(s)
Modelling
Causes and Consequences
Rural Poverty and Livelihoods
Region (s)
Albania
and East Europe
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Convenor
Rachel
Sabates-Wheeler
Investigators
Barry
Reilly (Sussex)
Julie
Litchfield (Sussex)
Adriana
Castaldo (Sussex)
Ilir
Gedeshi (CESS, Albania)
Key Activities
1. |
Analysis and model building based on
Albanian LSMS and existing quantitative data. |
2. |
Extension of short-term international migration survey
through the implementation of around 80 additional questionnaires. |
3. |
New in-depth interviews in four locations in Albania; |
4. |
Comparison with findings of project 4a. |
Key Outputs
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Workshop on methodological
approaches |
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Presentation at a conference
on migration in Albania |
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Three working papers
and briefing notes |
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Academic publications |
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Presentation at workshop
on poverty, vulnerability and migration in Sussex |
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