Thumbnail Image

Moving away from poverty: A spatial analysis of poverty and migration in Albania

Year of publication 2005

Pages 23

Author Alberto Zezza, Gero Carletto and Benjamin Davis;Agriculture and Economic Development Analysis Division

Product type Book (stand-alone)

Series title FAO Agricultural Economics Working Paper

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) This paper analyses recent patterns of migration and poverty in Albania, a country that ‑ following the collapse of the communist regime in 1990 – has been experiencing high migration rates. Using a combination of survey and census data, the paper characterises spatial patterns in the distribution of poverty and migration at a high level of geographic disaggregation. The results emphasise the importance of analysing internal and international migration as different phenomena, as the two appear t o be associated in opposite ways to observed poverty and welfare levels. While poverty acts as a push factor for internal migration, it seems to be a constraining factor for the more costly international migration. The results also suggest that rural migration to urban areas contributes to the relocation of poverty in urban areas. This paper analyses recent patterns of migration and poverty in Albania, a country that ‑ following the collapse of the communist regime in 1990 – has been experi encing high migration rates. Using a combination of survey and census data, the paper characterises spatial patterns in the distribution of poverty and migration at a high level of geographic disaggregation. The results emphasise the importance of analysing internal and international migration as different phenomena, as the two appear to be associated in opposite ways to observed poverty and welfare levels. While poverty acts as a push factor for internal migration, it seems to be a constraining factor for the more costly international migration. The results also suggest that rural migration to urban areas contributes to the relocation of poverty in urban areas. Key Words: Poverty, Migration, Albania. JEL: J1, J61, I32.

Language Trilingual

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Article
    Multiple moves and return migration within developing countries: A comparative analysis 2020
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This paper sheds new light on internal migration processes by estimating stylized migration histories for populations in 31 countries. The focus is on repeat migration and on return migration back to rural areas from urban areas. Migration histories are portrayed by introducing migration pathway matrices, representing the shares of the population (by gender) that have moved or stayed in rural and urban areas over three periods (childhood and two forward periods). Using data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the estimation of national migration pathway matrices was done with an information-theoretic procedure using maximum-entropy econometrics to estimate migration frequencies by population groups. Moving multiple times is found to be a consolidated practice in all countries analysed. Sizeable urban-to-rural migration flows are found, with rural returnees often contributing substantially to these flows. This phenomenon is more pronounced in countries in relatively early phases of economic development and among male migrants. For the sample of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, on average, 51% of men and 32% of women migrating from urban to rural areas are return migrants who lived in rural areas as children. Results indicate many migrants move multiple times: In the overall sample of countries, at least 43% of men and 36% of women who move once will move a second time (or more), accounting for nearly 120 million individuals. We find large differences in migration histories across genders, with these differences tending to be smaller for countries that are further along their economic development path and more urbanised.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Document
    Agency, Education and Networks: Gender and International Migration from Albania 2008
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Our paper examines the causes and dynamics of the shift in the gender composition of migration, and more particularly, in the access of women to migration opportunities and decision making. We do this in the context of Albania, a natural laboratory for studying migration developments given that out-migration was practically eliminated from the end of WWII to the end of the 1980s. We use micro-level data from the Albania 2005 LSMS including migration histories for family members since migration b egan. Our analysis, based on discrete-time hazard models, shows an impressive expansion of female participation in international migration. Female migration, which we find to be strongly associated with education, wealth, and social capital, appears responsive to economic incentives and constraints. Yet, using unique data on the dependency of female migration to the household demographic structure as well as the sensitivity of female migration to household-level shocks, we show that it is the ho useholds themselves that are the decision-making agents behind this economic calculus and there is little to suggest that increased female migration signals the emergence of female agency.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Book (stand-alone)
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.