Cross-border migration and remittances in a post-communist society: return flows of money and goods in the Korçë district, Albania

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, at least 600, 000 Albanians have availed themselves of the option of temporarily or permanently emigrating. Although there is no denying that the consequences of large-scale emigration and the related return flow of money do have an impact on Albanian society, the question is, how? Drawing on the returns to a survey conducted in a border district in south-eastern Albania in late 2002, including a sample of 1, 315 households, this paper assesses some of the basic features of remittances - recipients, channels, frequency, forms and use - in a society that has recently become a source of substantial flows of out-migration.