R4D Albania

Tracking diabetes in Albania: a natural experiment on the impact of modernisation on health.

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:29:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Shapo, L.; Coker, R.; McKee, M. 2002 Diabetic Medicine, 19(2), Editorial, 87-88 pp.[DOI: 10.1046/j.1464-5491.2002.00686.x]

Healing the crisis. A prescription for public health action in South-Eastern Europe.

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:40:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Rechel B and McKee M. 2003 Open Society Institute, Published by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK, ISBN 0 902657 73 9, 117 pp. This review summarizes existing evidence, highlights gaps, and reviews donor and other priorities in public health investment. The sources of data include published studies, health statistics, reports from governments, development agencies, and NGOs.

Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty Annual Report 2007-08

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:10:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2008 32 pp. + 85 pp. (annexes)

This month sees the completion of five years of research, training and capacity-building by the Migration DRC, in which it has sought to influence both national and international agendas on migration and development. Over that time period, the topic has moved to centre-stage internationally, with the upcoming UN Global Forum on Migration and Development in the Philippines the latest manifestation of government and civil society interest in the field. It has also attracted renewed academic interest, with a growing number of books and articles focusing on how migrants can represent a resource for development, but not without significant risks and costs in certain circumstances. The Migration DRC has been a part of these changes, it participates in most major events on migration and development including the Global Forum and the increasing canon of Migration DRC publications is testament to the contribution the Migration DRC has played in the migration and development debate so far.

In 2007-8 the Migration DRC was particularly pleased that the investment of time and effort by partners in the sometimes difficult process of developing a communications strategy paid off with a wider range of activities than ever before, a more diverse audience reached with Migration DRC messages and more inventive methods employed. It was particularly pleased that a new tranche of staff at partner organisations have been involved in these new activities and that the evident benefits of carrying out these activities mean that they will continue, with similar methods and approaches used by researchers and institutions to disseminate findings and engage with policy.

In April of this year the Migration DRC held a conference entitled 'Building Migration into Development Strategies'. This conference, which marked the five-year anniversary of the Migration DRC's establishment, took place 28-29 April 2008 at the Royal Society in London. The conference's six sessions included a diverse range of panellists, discussants and participants, including migration researchers, development specialists, policymakers and NGO representatives. It brought together the findings of the latest research on a number of key themes related to the Migration DRC's research over the past five years, and included a series of discussions on potential policies that governments could pursue which would maximise the benefits and minimise the risks of migration for poor people.

Thanks to funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, a child migration component has been added to the Migration in National Surveys database compiled by the Migration DRC. The directory includes censuses, and nationally representative data such as Living Standards Measurement Surveys and Demographic and Health Surveys. The new child migration component includes an outline of what information is available in each country's dataset about migrant children, including what ages of children are covered and what types of children's movements are captured. Funding from Rockefeller has recently been confirmed to 2009. In relation to this project two researchers presented a paper on 'Child Migration in National Surveys' at the Child Migration workshop that took place at Sussex from 6-8 May 2008. As a result of the success of this project and that of the Global Migrant Origin Database the Migration DRC website has been rearranged to highlight the contribution that the Migration DRC has made to data issues and to make it easier for researchers and policymakers to access its work in this area.

Other highlights of the year include a publication which builds on the Migration DRC commitment to making heard the voices of migrants. Known Face, Unknown Life: Voices of the Poor from Murshidabad, a book based on Abdur Rafique's research on internal migrants in West Bengal, was published in Bengali in March 2008 by Ganchil publishing in Kolkata, India. The book was reviewed by the Bengali-language newspaper Anandabazar Patrika which has the largest circulation of any Bengali publication on 1 March 2008. An English version of the book will be published shortly, as part of the Migration DRC's increased efforts to highlight its research findings on internal migration. The contribution of the Migration DRC's work has been recognised by the inclusion of two research projects in DFID's case study section on the Research4Development portal. One of these projects, the Global Migrants Origin Database was also highlighted in DFID's recently-published research strategy.

Partners in the Migration DRC spent some time this year investing in plans and a proposal for a further year's funding. This will take funding for the Migration DRC up to May 2009. The main remit of the additional year is to consolidate and disseminate the findings of the more than 40 research projects that the DRC has undertaken on the last five years, and to engage in further capacity-building activities in Ghana and Bangladesh. In the coming year, the DRC will hold a number of conferences and workshops, including events on social protection and migration, and child migration in West Africa. Additionally, the Migration DRC will expand its policy briefing series, aiming to publish ten new briefings related to the findings of DRC research projects in the coming year. Whilst the extra year of funding focuses on Ghana and Bangladesh, the Migration DRC hopes to continue to collaborate with Albania and Egypt through other funding sources. Over the coming months, Sussex is also coordinating plans for future funding bids to extend the Migration DRC's work beyond 2009.

The Sustainability of 'Voluntary Assisted Return': The Experience of the Balkans. Tirana, Albania, 14th September 2004

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:26:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2004 Sussex, UK, DRC on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty, 23 pp. There is considerable but diverse experience of return in the Balkans, including mass return after war in the context of international civil administration in Bosnia and Kosovo, forced return of failed asylum seekers and irregular migrants in several other countries, and possible voluntary return of migrants at the end of the migration 'project', not least in Albania. This workshop aimed to bring together these diverse experiences and to have some discussion about definitions with the aim of producing some conclusions of value to researchers and policy makers covering:

· Does it make sense to talk about 'sustainable' return

· What does it mean and can it be measured

· What influences whether return is sustainable

Highly Skilled Migration from Albania: An Assessment of Current Trends and the Ways Ahead.

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:48:00 GMT

Miscellaneous E. Germenji, I. Gedeshi 2008 Working Paper T-25, Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty, Brighton, UK, 34 pp. By making use of qualitative and quantitative data collected in Albania in 2006 as well as quantitative data derived from a data bank established by CESS in collaboration with the Soros Foundation over 1998-1999 and 2003-2004, we hope to contribute towards filling the existing gap on knowledge of the brain drain through migration of highly skilled workers from Albania. This paper is organised as follows. Section 2 provides a summary of the existing debate on the economic literature concerning migration of highly skilled workers from developing countries. Section 3 first briefly reviews the pattern and chronology of Albanian emigration since 1990, before looking specifically at the emigration of the highly skilled. Section 4 presents the results obtained from analysing the information collected by our team in 2006 as well as CESS' data bank. This section is divided into two parts: the first explains the methodology employed for data collection; and the second presents the results. Section 5, based on the findings of the survey and examples of encouraging experiences from other countries, discusses a number of channels through which Albania can turn its brain drain into brain gain. The last section concludes and suggests some of the areas where research would involve a high payoff in terms of policy recommendations.

Impact of the withdrawal of modern energy on the urban poor: Final technical report

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Technical Report N. Scott, K. McKemey, S. Batchelor 2004 Gamos Ltd., UK, 181 pp. This final technical report introduces the project (Impact of the withdrawal of modern energy on urban poor, R8147) and its research methodology, and provides country contexts (for Albania, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova) in terms of national energy, energy reforms and poverty. Analysis and findings are presented for each country, along with points of interest from cross-country comparisons. The report finishes with conclusions and recommendations. There are 4 appendices: an example questionnaire and survey analysis for each country.

Accessing clean energy in low income communities

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Report S. Aliko, L. Kona, Bermet, S. Jumagazy, R. Jusupova, Agape (Moldova) 0 Gamos Ltd., UK, 10 pp. These case studies (for Albania, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova) demonstrate ways in which communities in transitional economies have engaged with local authorities in order to successfully achieve access to energy infrastructure services.

The case studies have been generated as part of a research project (R8147, Impact of the withdrawal of modern energy on urban poor) investigating the impact of energy sector reform processes on low income urban communities. The project presents evidence on the extent to which communities have been affected by changes to date in energy industries, and explores how households are likely to respond to increases in costs in the future. The case studies complement the field survey work by giving examples of how marginal communities have managed to extend their choice of fuels.

The impact of changes in the energy industry on the urban poor. Country report - Albania.

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Miscellaneous N. Scott, K. McKemey, S. Aliko, L. Kona 2004 Gamos Ltd., UK, 10 pp. In a DFID-funded project (R8147, Impact of the withdrawal of modern energy on urban poor) bringing together NGOs and energy institutions in Albania, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova, Gamos have conducted field research aimed at helping policy makers and CSOs understand the likely impact of changes in energy supplies on the urban poor. The research uses statistical analysis to identify how people's behaviour with respect to energy use has already changed, and how they are likely to cope with forthcoming changesIn a DFID-funded project (R8147, Impact of the withdrawal of modern energy on urban poor) bringing together NGOs and energy institutions in Albania, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova, Gamos have conducted field research aimed at helping policy makers and CSOs understand the likely impact of changes in energy supplies on the urban poor. The research uses statistical analysis to identify how people's behaviour with respect to energy use has already changed, and how they are likely to cope with forthcoming changes. This document is a report for Albania.

Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty Annual Report 2005-06

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Annual Report Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty 2006 Sussex, UK, DRC on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty, 33 pp. Highlights of the DRC's work in 2005-06 are presented, including:-

The production and launch of a robust database of stock figures based on place of birth and citizenship for modelling the effects of migration. This Global Migrant Origin Database also shows recent flow estimates for a limited number of countries. The World Bank has already used it in 'Global Economic Prospects 2006', which describes this database as a 'remarkable piece of detective work'. The database, available on the Centre's newly revamped website, and currently being mapped on the Migration Information Source to give user-friendly access to a wider audience, has already spawned two further studies. The first examines the increase in the labour forces of New Zealand and Australia, funded by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and Commonwealth Secretariat, and the second, commissioned by the World Bank, explores the causes and impact of international labour flows in Europe and Central Asia.

A foregrounding of some of the invisible migration streams that are nevertheless key livelihood strategies of the poor. While contemporary writing and debate on migration and development has largely focused on international migration, research at the DRC at macro and micro levels, has highlighted the role of internal migration, both as a livelihood strategy of the poor and in poverty reduction. This research has included: (a) analysis derived from the World Bank's Livings Standards Measurement Surveys, and surveys conducted by the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographics Institute, to establish causality between migration and poverty reduction in a much more rigorous way than has been done before; (b) in-depth qualitative case studies of migration strategies of the poor, and the different forms of social protection they tap into; and (c) in a major departure from conventional presentations of 'unaccompanied minors' as victims, the Centre has pioneered work on the autonomous migration of children, giving them a voice, and thereby providing a vivid sense of their decision-making capacity and resilience.

The Centre's research on skilled migration has moved beyond a simplistic notion of 'brain drain' from developing countries to a much more nuanced view that takes into account what the real costs to the country of origin are, including where higher education and training is acquired, and at whose expense. This particular take on skilled migration makes possible policy-relevant distinctions between countries that export skilled labour from an existing large supply, and those that are losing high proportions of scarce and critical human resources, to identify the policies that need to be put in place to support human resource development rather than simply stanching flows.

The Centre's work on the rights theme has addressed issues around refugees, IDPs and returnees. Two of the papers produced on non-Palestinian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon under the forced migration and policy in the Middle East project were submitted as expert papers to the United Nations Development Programme in Lebanon, and are to constitute part of the UNDP national human rights strategy for Lebanon.

Working Paper T11. Who is Most Likely to Migrate from Albania? Evidence from the Albania Living Standards Measurement Survey.

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Working Paper A. Castaldo, J. Litchfield and B. Reilly 2005 WP-T11, Sussex, UK, DRC on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty, 36 pp. This paper uses the Albania Living Standards Measurement Survey from 2002 to examine the factors that render an individual most prone to the risk of international migration. The analysis uses novel data on whether individuals ever considered migrating abroad. The econometric models used provide good descriptions of the data and are well specified on the basis of a battery of diagnostic tests conducted. The estimated results are generally consistent with findings from the empirical literature on the willingness to migrate. The usual suspects emerge as determining factors with age, gender, employment status and education exerting predictable influences on migration risk. There is also a strong role for local labour market conditions and community level variables capturing, among other things, the prevalence of crime.

Section One of the paper discusses a number of conceptual issues that attach to employing the migration measure used in this study and is followed by a section describing the data. Section Three outlines the econometric methodology and Section Four details the empirical results. A final section offers a summary and some conclusions.

Privatised agriculture five years on: family holdings in their social context in Southern Albania.

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed Privatisation of agriculture in Albania has recreated a society of smallholders and worker-peasants. It has also frozen the social structure at the point in time (1 July 1991) (when land belonging to co-operatives was allocated to member families. This project studies the consequences for the development process in some of the more important agricultural areas, as they have become evident in the last five years. To study the developing structure of privatisation in the agricultural sector in Albania and provide social information to guide on-going policy development.

Impact of the withdrawal of modern energy on urban poor

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Ongoing Policy makers and civil society organisations will understand the impacts on livelihoods of the urban poor of deterioration of modern energy supplies (in E. Europe), with a view to incorporating mitigating activities into reform policy and pro-poor activities respectively. Of more interest to the research is an understanding of how people's fuel choices and use are likely to change as the reforms start to bite. For example, if a significant number of people use wood to substitute for electricity, then there will be consequences for the regulation of timber industries in order to protect forests. It appears that gas is the preferred substitute for electricity and whilst in Albania there are plans to expand the local LPG industry, which would appear to be a timely response to changes in the electricity supply industry, there is no LPG industry to speak of in Kyrgyzstan where electricity prices remain relatively low. Social protection mechanisms proposed are based on existing state support mechanisms, yet the data indicates that some households experiencing poverty are not receiving any form of benefit e.g. up to a third of pensioners are not receiving pension benefits. The cost of making benefit systems more effective needs to be included in any analysis of social protection mechanisms. Changing to cheaper fuels will have not only environmental implications associated with burning gas, wood and coal in preference to electricity (mostly renewable from hydro plant), but also health implications on a domestic level. There will also be implications on livelihoods (notably health and education) of likely coping strategies associated with reduction of energy use. The implications of this for the urban poor is being discussed in final workshops within the research project. The final output of the project should inform decision makers regarding how industry reforms can be linked to social protection systems in such a way to minimise the negative impact on the poor. The research methodology employs a combination of qualitative data and non parametric statistical analysis to investigate the links between changes in the energy industry and changes in household energy behaviour. Household surveys questionnaires were developed through preliminary surveys in each of the three countries, which included interviews with government ministries, regulators, energy related institutions, electricity distribution companies, NGOs, local energy suppliers, and local residents. The main household surveys have now been completed and the data is being prepared for analysis.

The preliminary surveys confirmed that the energy reform processes in all three countries do indeed have potential negative social and economic impacts on the poor. It is also evident that the full implications for the poor of liberalisation are yet to be realised. Tariff increases to date have been minimal e.g. only nominal increase in lifeline tariff in Albania, and although lifeline tariffs have increased in Kyrgyzstan, they remain low in real terms e.g. around 1.1 cent/kWh. Electricity companies are only just beginning to address the issues of non-payment and theft e.g. meter installation programmes are under way in Albania where over half of respondents receive nominal rather than metered bills (only 7% of respondents have no meter in Moldova and Kyrgyzstan). Nevertheless, the authorities recognise the potential consequences of increased electricity costs, and are investigating mechanisms to administer additional funds to compensate for price increases e.g. the Kyrgyz Tariff Policy Project (funded by DFID). However, social protection mechanisms proposed are based on existing systems i.e. existing registers for pensions, disability, unemployment benefits etc. Two main concerns have been voiced - will the extra money be enough (pensioners have been identified as a high risk group), and what will happen to households who fall through the social protection net?

Preliminary results confirm a general preference for gas for cooking (LPG and piped, depending on national markets). Although gas is also the dominant space heating fuel in Albania, use is low in Kyrgyzstan because gas is only piped to dwellings that also have district heating, so there is no demand; electricity and coal are used instead. Albania is the only country registering significant use of wood.

The data shows that even though the full impact of reforms has yet to be felt, some have already changed their choice of fuels and payment behaviour. For example, in Albania over a quarter of people have changed fuels, with most changing from electricity to LPG for cooking and heating, whilst in Kyrgyzstan less than 20% have changed fuels. It is interesting to note that whilst 30% of respondents in Albania have started paying for electricity over the last 5 years, 20% have stopped paying.

When faced with potential enforcement of payment and price increases, enforcement is regarded as the main threat where payment rates are low (Albania), otherwise electricity price rises are regarded as most important (Kyrgyzstan). Potential responses appear to be mixed; for example people in Albania say they will change to cheaper fuels, whilst those in Kyrgyzstan prefer to reduce their energy consumption. What is clear is that people will have difficulty paying, and the remaining analysis intends to look at responses to coping strategies to predict the impacts on livelihoods.

Now that data sets from all three countries are available, the analysis needs to be completed and a draft policy paper drawn up. Research partners in each country will then circulate these amongst national experts as part of a consultation and verification phase. Finally, a set of reports will be published and disseminated amongst various stakeholder groups.

Solutions and responses to the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed Focus on possible solutions to the conflict in Kosovo that take into account the human rights of the local Albanian populations and the legitimate concerns of the Serb people and the Yugoslav government.

DFID lesson sharing with ECAD land for development programme

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed DFID/EECAD participated in the First European Summit on the Land for Development Programme (LFDP) initiated by the UN Economic Commission for Europe Real Estate Advisory Group (UN ECE-REAG) in September 2002. The summit aimed to share experience on rights of access to land as one important driver of development and poverty reduction. Representatives of governments, business community, NGOs and international donor organisations (WB, EC, EBRD, FAO, USAID, DFID) from 23 countries discussed the challenges involved in land market development in transition economies. The Lesson Sharing with ECAD Land for Development Programme was subsequently commissioned to help facilitate the progress of the LFDP in its first crucial year of existence and to make use of DFID's accumulated expertise in ECA countries and in particular to support dissemination of the alternative dispute resolution mechanism (Third Party Abitration Courts) dealing with issues around access to land and property. To prepare training and information materials on relevant DFID projects/programmes; to carry out study visits/seminars to relevant DFID TPAC case studies; and to support preparations for the Second European Summit on the Land for Development Programme. The DFID TPAC experience will be presented at the summit in anticipation that it will contribute to a stronger "influencing" and dissemination of best practice to other countries within the wider region. The project support to UN ECE in its preparations for the Second Summit will result in a stronger "influencing" role and support DFID - UN ECE partnership development. To prepare training and information materials on relevant DFID projects/programmes; to carry out study visits/seminars to relevant DFID TPAC case studies; and to support preparations for the Second European Summit on the Land for Development Programme. An information pack ,Third party arbitration court: experience of DFID projects with a TPAC component implemented in Russia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine, was prepared.

Two study visits were organised for delegations from Albania and Slovakia.

Preparations for the Second Summit on the Land for Development Programme started in July with a meeting of the Steering Group of the Land for Development Programme, subsequently an ADAS project co-ordinator is providing assistance in organising the summit on a full-time basis.

Migration, Globalisation and Poverty (Migration DRC)

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Current In the past, migration has generally been seen as reflecting the failure of development, or worse, as contributing to a vicious circle in which poverty is reinforced. However, there is now growing recognition that migration, whether internal or international, can also represent an important route out of poverty. Evidence suggests that migration can have significant positive impacts on livelihood and well-being, though it also carries costs and risks that may be borne disproportionately by the poor, and may increase inequality.

The critical challenge that remains is to understand under what conditions the positive impacts of migration on poverty can be enhanced, or the risks and costs of migration to the poor reduced. This understanding can be used to underpin new policy approaches that maximise the benefits of migration for the poor, whilst minimising the costs.

Together with partners from South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe, the Centre will undertake a programme of research, capacity-building, training and promotion of dialogue to provide the strong evidential and conceptual base needed for such new policy approaches. This knowledge base will also be shared directly with poor migrants, contributing both directly and indirectly to the elimination of poverty. Together with partners from South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe, the Centre is undertaking a programme of research, capacity-building, training and promotion of dialogue to provide the strong evidential and conceptual base needed for such new policy approaches. This knowledge base will also be shared directly with poor migrants, contributing both directly and indirectly to the elimination of poverty. Development and dissemination of knowledge on how the positive impact of migration on poverty can be enhanced, or the costs and risks of migration to the poor reduced.

Build the capacity of a range of institutions and other target audiences to explore the significance of migration in poverty reduction.

Application of knowledge and capacity by target audience (including DFID) to influence policy and programme implementation. Understanding of the influence of migration on poverty widely promoted. Production of high quality and poverty focused research has been fully achieved. Some of the research outputs for 2008 exceeded projections, particularly on publications. The DRC and its products have been cited in in many publications and has continued to receive requests for specific researches on aspects of migration. Migration DRC researchers have been involved in preparations for UN High-Level Dialogue on migration. DRC partners have been working with policymakers in their own countries in setting out responses to migration challenges. Partnership with University of Ghana has contributed to the establishment of the Migration Centre in Ghana. In Bangladesh, the partner organisation is very influential with policy makers and has seen a partial lifting of restrictions on female migration.