Tertiary Education in Italy: Territorial Gaps, Southern University Students’ Mobility and the Economic Impact on the South of Italy’s Regions

This paper, after an initial review of the current situation of the tertiary education in Italy, both in terms of geographical differences and international comparisons, examines the territorial mobility of university students for educational purposes and, following the graduation, for working reasons. The analysis is carried out using the available data collected by the Ministry of University and Research on students enrolled in the Italian university system and by the AlmaLaurea Interuniversity Consortium surveys on the employment status of graduates. Through some simulations and the use of the SVIMEZ’s NMODS econometric model applied to the data, it is possible to estimate the extent of the economic impact of student’s migration along the route moving university students from the South to the Center-North of Italy. The analysis takes into account an entire decade, mapping the situation in our Country just before the emergence of the pandemic. Results from estimates highlight the significant loss of GDP affecting Southern Italy regions in this timespan and provide a detailed outlook useful for the economic policy assessments our Country is dealing with in this historical period.