At the international conference “Migrations, diaspora and development in Albania and West Balkan” held in Tirana, the director of the Institute for Development and Innovation presented the results of “Cost of youth emigration” analysis in the West Balkan countries Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia.
The lack of human capital could shortly create long-term economic issues in the region and influence the standard of living of the West Balkan citizens.
In the case that the emigration trend goes on, it will create several social-economic issues, that are already noticeable.
The main issues are pressure on pension funds, health and social security systems, limited potential GDP growth, and an unstable labor market.
The conclusion is that with the emigration, society losses funds were given for the education of individuals, and these costs come to roughly 503 million euros for Albania, 1,2 billion for Serbia and 433 million for North Macedonia.
