Migration of the skilled from Albania: brain drain or brain gain?

This paper discusses migration of the skilled from Albania in the post-1990 period. It first highlights the scale of skilled migration and then examines the channels through which the phenomenon might have affected Albania's development. In recent years the issue of skilled migration and its impact has attracted the attention of both the Albanian government and civil society. The message delivered through this paper is, however, that while the country has possibly experienced substantial outflows of human capital, the impact the phenomenon has had on Albania's development is unknown. The paucity of data and research imposes severe limitations, preventing at the same time policy-makers from having the relevant information required for developing policies to manage skill losses and capacity-building in the country.