Local Poverty and Inequality in Albania

This article presents the results of the latest poverty and inequality mapping update using the 2012 Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) survey and the 2011 census. This mapping builds on the methodology outlined by Chris Elbers and colleagues and further innovates by including new methodological developments. The results presented here allow better understanding of the regional inequalities in welfare across Albania, and thus can help policy makers address them. This is particularly needed because internal migration over the past decade led to large-scale urbanization in some areas and severe depopulation in others. Internal migration is multifaceted, but mostly flows toward Tirana.