Description:
This paper examines the role of
male-dominated international migration in shaping labor
market outcomes by gender in migrant-sending households in
Albania. Using detailed information on family migration
experience from the latest Living Standards Measurement
Study survey, the authors find that male and female labor
supplies respond differently to the current and past
migration episodes of household members. Controlling for the
potential endogeneity of migration and for the income
(remittances) effect, the estimates show that having a
migrant abroad decreases female paid labor supply and
increases unpaid work. However, women with past family
migration experience are significantly more likely to engage
in self-employment and less likely to supply unpaid work.
The same relationships do not hold for men. These findings
suggest that over time male-dominated Albanian migration may
lead to women's empowerment in access to income-earning
opportunities at the origin.