Transcript Albania: Exiting form vulnerability in Global Migration System

Albania:
Migration and Development.
Exiting from vulnerability in
Global Migration System
Prof. Kosta Barjaba, PhD, MPA
Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Equal
Opportunities of Albania
I. 12 top symptoms of
Albanian migration in
the global context
1.1. The number of emigrants is reaching
record levels: Albania the highest migration
flow European country
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1 million emigrants out of a population of 3.4 million;
22-25% of the population;
35% of active population;
50% in Greece;
25% in Italy;
25% in the rest of EU countries (UK, Germany, Switzerland), US and
Canada.
 The average migration flow in developing countrues approximately 5-6%
of the active population.
 Albanian immigration flow 5-6 times greater than the average flow of
developing countries.
1.2. The skills and economic
performance of Albanian
immigrants is declining
 The limited capacities of receiving
country’s labor market due to structural
reforms to meet the EU standards;
 The labor market standards are more
demanding;
 Ageing factor: the first generation of
emigrants is reaching the pension age;
 The second generation is still in school or
in the periphery of labor market;
1.3. Immigrants’ earning continue
to be lower than natives
 The worsening of economic performance;
 The gap between immigrants and natives
is narrowing slowly: historical experience
shows that the immigrants-natives gap
narrows only 10% in the first two decades
of migration. In 15 years of Albanian
migration the gap is narrowed only 7.5%;
1.4. Ethnic origin does matter
 Albanian immigrants: the majority of immigrant community
in Greece and the second in Italy;
 The so-called phenomena of victimization, incrimination
and demonization of Albanian immigrants;
 The public perception of Albanian immigrants: mostly
created by press and media;
 They expected to be closer, but they feel the distance: the
cultural neighborhood sometimes doesn’t matter.
 Ethnic ghettos slow the integration of immigrants in the
host societies, but this affects only slightly the Albanian
immigrants, as they do not intend to concentrate in ethnic
ghettos.
1.5. Albanian immigrants harm
the economic and employment
opportunities of least skilled
natives
 Most of immigrants have a poor level of
skill and education;
 Higher skilled and qualified immigrants are
installed into least skilled jobs and
employment sectors;
1.6. Albanian immigrants have a
severe fiscal impact on the
receiving countries economy
and welfare system
 The least skilled the immigrants, the more
heavy the fiscal burden and fiscal effect;
 The surveys show that for the first 15
years of migration experience immigrants
consist of a burden on welfare system;
 The main receiving countries, Greece and
Italy, are reforming their welfare system
and the immigrants burden causes serious
implications;
1.7. Net economic gains from
immigration in European receiving
countries are significant
 As Albanians enter the labor market in Greece
and Italy, the wage of native workers falls.
Workers lose because immigrants drug wages
down;
 But the native-owned firms gains, as they are
able to hire workers at lower wages. Employers
gain because immigrants drug wages down;
 Native consumers gain because the lower labor
market costs lead to cheaper goods and
services offered to population;
1.7. Net economic gains from
immigration in European receiving
countries are significant
 Immigration induces a substantial redistribution of wealth, away from
workers who compete with immigrants, and toward employers and
other users of immigrants’ services. In this perspective, immigration
can be viewed as an income redistribution program, a transfer of
wealth from those who compete with immigrants toward those who
use immigrant labor, products and services;
 Immigration may benefit or harm the receiving countries even
through externalities: products and services born by immigrants:
cuisine, cultural products etc. But in this perspective the impact of
Albanian immigrants is insignificant, as Albanian cuisine and other
products and services are not expanding in receiving countries;
 In the US the immigration net gain is less than 0.1% of GDP.
1.8. Illegality versus legality:
Migration of Albanians started as
illegal and is transformed into a
legal migration
 Albania was unprepared to manage the flow;
 The neighbor receiving countries were unprepared to
manage the flow;
 Agreement with Greece in 1996;Agreement with Italy in
1997;
 Domination of legal versus illegal immigrants started in
1998;
 During 1998-2005 around 70 0000 Albanian illegal
immigrants per year were legalized in both countries,
Greece and Italy;
 During 2003-2006 the rate legal-illegal was 1.5-1 in
1.9. Active versus passive
immigrants: passive immigrants’
anormal rate
 High level of family migration, conditioned and favored
by cultural, linguistic and geographic vicinity, as well as
by the low cost of migrating in neighbor countries;
 High level of migration of minors, accompanied and non
accompanied;
 High level of females’ migration, conditioned and favored
by the easiness of entering the labor market, especially
in domestic activities: no “white widows” as in the case of
migration form other countries, but sometimes “white
widowers”;
 High level of unemployment among immigrants;
1.10. High level of brain drain:
brain gain versus brain loss or
brain waste
 High level of migration of qualified people;
 Most of qualified people installed in the labor
market sectors other from those which fit to their
profession and qualification;
 Brain drain recognized symbolically as the
“Canada phenomena”. Because of the Canada
migratory policies favoring migration of qualified
people;
 Severe consequences in the domestic labor
market, economic, social and political life;
1.11. Long term versus short term
migration: Migration is passing from a
contemporary seasonal migration into a
long term permanent one, making use of:
 opportunities offered by migratory policies
in the receiving countries;
 geographic vicinity which favors periodical
return returns in the country;
 the synergy between economic and
professional activities in the receiving
country and in Albania;
1.12. Migration as survival and
consumption source versus migration
as a factor of development
 For the first 15 years, migration has served as a
source of economic survival and consumption;
 Only recently there are efforts and actions to use
migration as a factor of economic, social, cultural
and political development;
 Country Strategy of Migration Management
(2005);
 Attention to voluntary and incentive return of the
successful immigrants;
 Attention to migration remittances;
II. Government of Albania’s
migration policies and
challenges
2.1. Discouraging migration flow
through :
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Stabilisation of economy;
Sustainable development;
Creating new jobs ;
Incentives to return migration ;
Favoring the use of remittances in
country’s economy ;
2.2. Extending and broadening the
channels of legal migration to
qualified people, through:
 Implementing bilateral agreements;
 Promoting decentralized cross-border
cooperation and migration;
 Prioritizing the vocational and educational
training to fit to foreign labor market
standards;
 Combating human beings trafficking and
smuggling;
2.3. Supporting the installment in
the labor market and integration of
Albanian immigrants, through:
 Negotiating with receiving countries’ governments;
 Providing information, assistance and counseling to
immigrants;
 Endorsing the international labor migration conventions;
 Promoting access to schooling and services to the
second generation of immigrants;
 A critical pending issue: Reciprocal recognition and
transfer of the social insurance fees and payments.
Negotiations in progress with Italy, Greece, Canada, and
other countries;
2.4. Promoting the voluntary and
incentived return migration of
successful immigrants, through:
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Legal incentives;
Banking incentives;
Fiscal incentives;
Financial incentives;
“Albania 1 EURO” Initiative: Albanian
immigrants and Diaspora as beneficiaries;
2.5. The better use of financial, human
and social capital of migration as a
factor of development
 Financial capital or remittances: from USD 152 million in
1992 to USD 1 billion in 2006;
 Human capital: the most active, dynamic, qualified, and
youngest population;
 Social capital: values gained through migration
experience: professional, cultural, organizational,
managerial, discipline and work culture;
 Remittances: 15-20% of GDP
 Remittances finance about 60% of country’s trade deficit;
 Remittances: competing with foreign direct investments
in the country;
2.6. The synergy and correlation
between migration, trade, and
investment policies
 Migration remittances as a source of
investment;
 Immigrants: target of economic and trade
agreements
2.7. Challenges for bilateral
cooperation in the field of
migration
 Demilitarization of migration policies.
Migration dichotomy: an economic and
social phenomena and not a public safety,
public order and police issue;
 Immigrants versus refugees and asylumseekers: shifting in priorities toward
economic and labor immigrants;
 Migration policies towards business
oriented policies.
III. Remittances: a top
priority and challenge
3.1. Promoting the participation of
financial institutions in Albania
and receiving countries in the
transfer of remitances, through:
 Cooperation with receiving countries for
the use of formal channels of transfer of
remittances;
 Promoting immigrants’ access to financing
SME and traditional economic activities;
3.1. (Continues):
 Strengthening financial and MTO and
institutions;
 Promoting the role of the Post Offices in
financial services;
 Transfers of remittances may generate
bank loans for financing economic
activities or other financial products;
3.2. Increasing the financial products
for immigrants and diversifying
remittances generated investments
 Immigrants’ demand for financial products
is increasing;
 Immigrants savings in 2004: USD 5 billion
or 70% of Albania’s GDP;
 Remittances can be used for financing:
– housing,
– small infrastructure projects
– privatization of public strategic assets;
3.3. Orienting and directing
remittances for productive
investment purposes
 During the first 15 years of migration:
remittances uased for consumption
purposes;
 It led to increase of country’s trade deficit:
in 2004 it reached 25% of GDP;
 Collaboration and synergy with the privat
sector to attract immigrants’ savings from
the banks in receivinmg countries;
3.4. Increasing the access of
Albanian immigrants to bank and
financial services in receiving
countries
 Promoting banks’ cooperation
 Public (immigrants) awareness
compaigns;
 Banks and MTOs: building trust
3.5. Coordination with receiving
countries governments to
channel the aid to Albania
through incentiving succesful
returned immigrants
 Developing new programmes;
 Revisiting the existing agreeements,
programmes, and projects;
3.6. Albanian banks to open new
branhes in receiving countries
 Actually, onlu ABA has opend 2 branches in
Greece (Athens and Thessaloniki)
 Albanian banks will enable providing more
services to immigrants in receiving countries and
in Albania:
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Online banking services;
Saving and investment products;
Business loans;
Prepaid cards;
Dedit cards;
Counseling and assistance;
3.7. Support to micro-finance
institutions wich enter and
operate in the remittances market
and management
 Political support;
 Legal support;
 Institutional support;
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 THANK YOU