Investing Back Home : Return Migration and Business Ownership in Albania

In view of its increasing importance, and the dearth of information on return migration and its impacts on source households, this study uses data from the 2005 Albania Living Standards Measurement Study survey and assesses the impact of past migration experience of Albanian households on non-farm business ownership through instrumental variables regression techniques. Moreover, considering the differences in earning potentials and opportunities for skill acquisition in different destination countries, the impact of household past migration experience is differentiated by main migrant destinations, namely Greece and Italy. The study also tests for the hypothesis of the existence of migration cycles, by differentiating the time spent abroad based on the year of return. The empirical results indicate that household past migration experience exerts a positive impact on the probability of owning a non-farm business. While one additional year in Greece increases the probability of household business ownership by roughly 7 percent, a similar experience in Italy or further destinations raises the probability by over 30 percent. Although past migration experience for the period 1990-2000 is positively associated with the likelihood of owning a household enterprise, a similar impact does not materialize for the period 2001-2004. The latter finding seems suggestive of the fact that more recent migrants are yet to attain a target level of required savings and skills in order to successfully establish a new business upon return.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Kilic, Talip, Carletto, Calogero, Davis, Benjamin, Zezza, Alberto
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2007-09
Subjects:	ACCESS TO CAPITAL, ACCESS TO CREDIT, ACCESS TO SERVICES, ACCESSIBILITY, ACCOUNTING, ADULT POPULATION, AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION, AMOUNT OF MONEY, AMOUNT OF SAVINGS, ASSET OWNERSHIP, ASSET POSITION, ASSET POSITIONS, BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE, BASIC NEEDS, BORDERS, BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, BUSINESS CLIMATE, BUSINESS FORMATION, BUSINESS LOCATION, BUSINESS OWNERSHIP, BUSINESS STARTUPS, CAPITAL ACCUMULATION, CAPITAL CONSTRAINTS, CAPITAL MARKET, CAPITAL MARKETS, CASH FLOWS, COLLATERAL, CORPORATE FINANCE, CORRUPTION, COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, CREDIT CONSTRAINTS, CREDIT MARKET, CREDIT MARKET FAILURES, CREDIT MARKETS, CULTURAL BACKGROUND, DEPORTATION, DERIVATIVES, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DIASPORA, DIVERSIFICATION, DUMMY VARIABLE, DURABLES, EARNINGS, EAST EUROPE, ECONOMIC DECISION, EDUCATION LEVEL, EDUCATION LEVELS, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, EMIGRANTS, EMIGRATION, EMPLOYMENT GROWTH, ENTREPRENEUR, ENTREPRENEURIAL ABILITY, ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITIES, ENTREPRENEURS, EQUIPMENT, EXCLUSION, EXPENDITURES, FAMILY BUSINESS, FAMILY BUSINESSES, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY REUNIFICATION, FARMS, FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLD, FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS, FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS, FINANCIAL COSTS, FINANCIAL FLOWS, FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION, FINANCIAL RESOURCES, FINANCIAL SUPPORT, FUNGIBLE, GLOBALIZATION, GOVERNMENT POLICIES, GOVERNMENT REGULATION, GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS, HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD, HOST COUNTRIES, HOST COUNTRY, HOUSEHOLD BUSINESS, HOUSEHOLD BUSINESSES, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD LEVEL, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, HOUSEHOLD WEALTH, HOUSING, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN MIGRATION, ILLNESS, IMMIGRANTS, IMMIGRATION, IMMIGRATION POLICY, IMPACT OF MIGRATION, IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION, INCOME SHOCKS, INCOME SOURCES, INEQUALITY, INFORMAL FINANCE, INHERITANCE, INSTRUMENT, INSURANCE, INSURANCE MARKETS, INTERNAL FINANCE, INTERNATIONAL BANK, INTERNATIONAL MIGRANT, INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, INVESTING, INVESTMENT CLIMATE, INVESTMENT SCHEMES, JOB CREATION, JOB LOSS, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKETS, LABOR MIGRATION, LABOR SUPPLY, LAND OWNERSHIP, LEARNING OPPORTUNITY, LEGAL STATUS, LEVEL OF EDUCATION, LIFETIME, LIQUIDITY, LIQUIDITY CONSTRAINTS, LIVING STANDARDS, LOAN, LOAN AMOUNT, LOCAL ECONOMY, MARKET ECONOMY, MICRO-DATA, MICRO-ENTERPRISE, MICRO-ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT, MICRO-ENTERPRISES, MICROENTERPRISES, MIDDLE EAST, MIGRANT, MIGRANTS, MIGRATION FLOWS, MIGRATION PROCESS, MINORITY, MOBILITY, MORTGAGE, NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, NATIONS OF ORIGIN, NEW BUSINESS, NEW BUSINESSES, NEW ENTREPRENEURS, PLACE OF RESIDENCE, POLICY MAKERS, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POOR HOUSEHOLDS, POSITIVE COEFFICIENT, PROBABILITIES, PROBABILITY, PRODUCTIVE INVESTMENT, PRODUCTIVE INVESTMENTS, PRODUCTIVITY, PROGRESS, PURCHASING POWER, QUESTIONNAIRE, RECEIPT, REMITTANCES, REMITTANCES FROM MIGRANTS, RESOURCE MOBILIZATION, RESPECT, RETURN, RETURN MIGRATION, RETURNEES, RETURNS, ROLE OF GENDER, RURAL AREAS, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, SALE, SALES, SAVINGS, SELF-EMPLOYMENT, SENIOR, SKILL DEVELOPMENT, SMALL BUSINESS, SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, SMALL BUSINESSES, SMALL ENTERPRISES, SOCIAL CAPITAL, SOCIAL NETWORKS, SOCIAL NORMS, SOCIAL STATUS, SPOUSE, START-UP, START-UP CAPITAL, START-UPS, TAX, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TECHNICAL SKILLS, TELEVISION, TEMPORARY MIGRANTS, TEMPORARY MIGRATION, TRANSACTION, TRANSACTION COSTS, TRANSPORTATION, TV, UNEMPLOYMENT, URBAN AREAS, URBAN UNEMPLOYMENT, VALUE OF COLLATERAL, WAGE, WAGES, WEALTH EFFECT, WORKING AGE, YOUNGER PEOPLE,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/09/8358003/investing-back-home-return-migration-business-ownership-albania https://hdl.handle.net/10986/7360
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