After three years of decline in remittances, Bank of Albania says Albanian finance options and economic growth are being hurt.
By Tirana Times Staff
TIRANA, Nov. 15 – Bank of Albania has been warning for years that remittances from Albanian emigrants abroad would diminish over time, but the global economic crisis has accelerated the decline.
After three years of decline in remittances, Bank of Albania experts say Albanian finance options and economic growth are being negatively affected through losses in opportunities.
Remittances had served as a balancing factor for productivity and growth, in addition to foreign direct investment. In their absence, economic growth will slow down, according a recent study by the Bank of Albania.
The experts argue that remittances have been a stable source of economic growth in recent years, when according to the Bank of Albania, remittances made up 10 to15 percent of the country’s GDP.
But in the last three years there was clear trend of decline from 14.6 percent of GDP in 2005, to about 10.6 percent in 2008. In annual terms, in 2008, remittances marked a decline of about 6 percent against 2007, while for the first quarter of 2009 the annual decline was 7.7 per cent, according to Bank of Albania.
