Historical and recent trends of emigration from the Western Balkan region, comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo1 Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, have led to the formation of diverse diaspora groups across the world, with prominent representation in the Western European countries. Diaspora members often maintain close transnational socioeconomic ties with their countries of origin, most commonly reflected through the transfer of remittances at the individual or household level, but also increasingly through investment, entrepreneurship, or knowledge transfer etc., with the scope to create a greater impact on the socioeconomic development of the Western Balkan countries. However, this potential largely remains untapped so far.

Recognising the unique potential of diaspora groups as transnational development actors, the Western Balkan countries, as well as the countries of settlement, and international development partners are ever more interested in devising diaspora engagement mechanisms to channel their contributions towards national development agendas. However, considering the heterogeneity of Western Balkan diaspora groups, differences in governance and institutional structures, and varying economic and political conditions of the Western Balkan countries, there are wide information gaps in understanding how to make diaspora contributions impactful for socioeconomic development in the Western Balkans.

With support from the European Commission, ICMPD conducted the Study of the Diasporas’ Contributions to the Socio-Economic Development in the Western Balkans (ECONDIAS). The ECONDIAS study had the following overarching goal: Enhancing the Western Balkan diasporas’ contribution to socioeconomic development in their countries of origin, with a focus on business diaspora and entrepreneurship in order to increase the transfer of knowledge/skills and investments.

Keywords

#Diaspora

Regions

Europe and Northern America

Countries

Albania

Austria

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Germany

Italy

Kosovo

Montenegro

North Macedonia

Serbia

Sweden

Switzerland

Citation

Qaisrani, A, Perchinig, B, Jokić-Bornstein, J, Hendow, M, Bilger, V, and Kobzeva, V, Study of the Diasporas’ Contributions to the Socio-Economic Development in the Western Balkans: ECONDIAS Final Report. (2023). Vienna: ICMPD.