The conference was opened by Dr. Laetitia Duval, University François-Rabelais de Tours, France, who held a keynote speech on ”The consumption-enhancing effect of remittances: Evidence from Kosovo*”.

In addition two thematic panels were organized:
1) "Remittances, Jobs and Investment” 
2) "Remittances, Poverty and Inequality” 

Agenda of the Conference

The main goal of the conference was to present the final research results of the RRPP–funded research project To Consume or Self-Employ: Evidence from the Use of Remittances in FYR of Macedonia, Kosovo* and Bosnia - Herzegovina.

The aim of this research project was to investigate the impact of remittances on social disparities during the crises in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo* and FYR of Macedonia. The flow of remittances was carried out in various ways throughout their respective crises: They stagnated in Kosovo*, dropped sharply in BiH and continued to increase in FYR of Macedonia, which makes the issue particularly attractive. Furthermore the research project also dealt with the role of remittances in poverty alleviation, the balance of income inequality and the support of entrepreneurship in BiH, Kosovo* and FYR of Macedonia.

The results indicate that remittances have a positive impact on social disparities in FYR of Macedonia and Kosovo*, but not in BiH. For FYR of Macedonia and Kosovo*, the research outcome shows clearly that remittances have contributed to growing inequality before the crisis and to declining inequality during the crisis. Some opposite findings were obtained for BiH. 

Finally, the research results prove that remittances in FYR of Macedonia play a positive role in establishing own business, whereby the effect seems relatively small, i.e. it is only important for households that receive high amounts of remittances. In Kosovo*, remittances are irrelevant for self-employment. Conversely, remittances in BiH reduce recipient’s probability to self-employment.

For more information on the research results please click here.