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Sticky places: The effect of college on where you live

Author

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  • Fidjeland, Andreas
  • Knutsen, Tora
  • Stubhaug, Magnus

Abstract

Does the location of higher education institutions affect where graduates live? We use Norway’s centralized admissions system as a natural experiment to quantify the causal effect of study location on residence later in life. Leveraging students’ rankings of study programs and locations alongside GPA-based admission scores, we identify unpredictable cutoffs that create discontinuities in admission for near-identical applicants. Our analysis shows that being admitted to the preferred study location increases the likelihood of residing in the same region after graduation by 15–20 percentage points. This effect is consistent across both larger and smaller cities, highlighting the “stickiness” of educational locations.

Suggested Citation

  • Fidjeland, Andreas & Knutsen, Tora & Stubhaug, Magnus, 2026. "Sticky places: The effect of college on where you live," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:152:y:2026:i:c:s0094119026000148
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2026.103843
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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