This paper examines effects of postsocialist reforms on land cover and land use through a case study from South-eastern Albania. The paper uses satellite data to measure changes in land cover between 1988 and 2003, draws on a village survey to assess changes in local land-use practices, and examines shifts in the determinants of land cover through seemingly unrelated regressions at the village level. The results show a high incidence of cropland abandonment especially in lower-lying areas closer to markets. Socio-economic factors have emerged as new determinants of spatial variation, suggesting a growing influence of market principles on land use. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.