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The role of fees in foreign education: evidence from Italy
[Determinants of international student migration]

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  • Michel Beine
  • Marco Delogu
  • Lionel Ragot

Abstract

This article studies the determinants of international students’ mobility at the university level, focusing specifically on the role of tuition fees. We derive a gravity model from a Random Utility Maximization model of location choice for international students in the presence of capacity constraints of the hosting institutions. The last layer of the model is estimated using new data on student migration flows at the university level for Italy. We control for the potential endogeneity of tuition fees through a classical IV approach based on the status of the university. We obtain evidence for a robust and negative effect of fees on international student mobility, with an elasticity around −0.8. The estimations also confirm the positive impact of the quality of the education and support an important role of additional destination-specific variables such as host capacity, the expected return of education, the cost of living and the existence of education programs taught in English.

Suggested Citation

  • Michel Beine & Marco Delogu & Lionel Ragot, 2020. "The role of fees in foreign education: evidence from Italy [Determinants of international student migration]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 571-600.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jecgeo:v:20:y:2020:i:2:p:571-600.
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    1. Michel Beine & Marco Delogu & Lionel Ragot, 2017. "Understanding the Impact of Tuition Fees in Foreign Education: the Case of the UK," Working Papers hal-04141620, HAL.
    2. Naito, Takumi & Zhao, Laixun, 2020. "Capital accumulation through studying abroad and return migration," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 185-196.
    3. Beine, Michel & Peri, Giovanni & Raux, Morgan, 2023. "International college students’ impact on the US skilled labor supply," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).
    4. Catia Batista & David Costa & Pedro Freitas & Goncalo Lima & Ana Reis, 2024. "What Matters for the Decision to Study Abroad? A Lab-in-the-Field Experiment in Cape Verde," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2413, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    5. Delogu, Marco & Lagravinese, Raffaele & Paolini, Dimitri & Resce, Giuliano, 2024. "Predicting dropout from higher education: Evidence from Italy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    6. Murat Demirci, 2021. "Rising Political Populism and Outmigration of Youth as International Students," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 2123, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    7. Demirci, Murat, 2023. "Youth responses to political populism: Education abroad as a step toward emigration," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 653-673.
    8. Gildas Kadoukpè Magbondé, 2021. "How Sub-Saharan African Countries Students Choose Where to Study Abroad: The Case of Benin," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 278-287.
    9. Anna-Theresa Renner & Dieter Pennerstorfer, 2020. "Modeling inter-regional patient mobility: Does distance go far enough?," Economics working papers 2020-04, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    10. L. Ciucci & C. Detotto & B. Biagi & M. Pulina, 2023. "University study programmes and students dynamics," Working Paper CRENoS 202302, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    11. Elena Cottini & Paolo Ghinetti & Simone Moriconi, 2019. "Higher Education Supply, Neighbourhood effects and Economic Welfare," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def078, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    12. Neeraj Kaushal & Mauro Lanati, 2019. "International Student Mobility: Growth and Dispersion," NBER Working Papers 25921, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Leonardo Mazzoni & Massimo Riccaboni & Erik Stam, 2024. "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Interregional Flows of Entrepreneurial Talent," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2426, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Aug 2024.
    14. Elena Cottini & Paolo Ghinetti & Simone Moriconi, 2019. "On the Productivity Effects of Higher Education Supply: Evidence from Italian History," CESifo Working Paper Series 7483, CESifo.
    15. Agnese Sechi & Skerdilajda Zanaj & Gabriele Lombardi, 2024. "Mothers and students’mobility," DEM Discussion Paper Series 24-08, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    16. Iryna Kushnir & Nuve Yazgan, 2023. "The politics of higher education: the European Higher Education Area through the eyes of its stakeholders in France and Italy," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign students; tuition fees; location choice; university quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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