Abstract (from author): “This paper investigates the extent to which consumption patterns
of Albanian households are affected by the receipt of migrant remittances. Domestic and
international remittances are considered and differences in their impacts on household
consumption patterns assessed. The study finds that the consumption pattern for
households in receipt of internal remittances is not statistically different from those that do
not receive such transfers. On the other hand, households who receive remittances from
abroad spend, on average and ceteris paribus, a lower share of their expenditure on food and
a higher share on consumer durables compared to households who do not receive any type
of migrant remittances. However, in terms of the impact of remittances on marginal
spending behaviour, even international remittances do not seem to play a substantial role, in
contrast to the evidence reported in other recent studies in this area of research. This may be
due to the fact that the remittance variable that we use is failing to capture all households
who are receiving remittances, or may reflect that in Albania both domestic and international
remittances only have a modest effect on consumption patterns of households.”