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

	What is the influence of different socioeconomic and demographic factors on migration choices and outcomes?
	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?
	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?
	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?
	What is the effect of private transfers on poverty, and what are the implications of this for social policy?