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Selectivity among educational migrants? A multi-sited investigation

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  • Cebolla-Boado, Héctor
  • Nuhoglu Soysal, Yasemin

Abstract

Research on migration is shifting from comparisons between migrants and non-migrants in destination countries to a multi-sited origin-destination perspective, which allows us to address the issue of migrant selectivity. Selectivity implies that migration results from a systematic bias according to which emigrants differ from non-migrants in origin. The literature on selectivity has overlooked educational migrants, an important contributor to the flow of highly skilled international migration. We investigate whether international students in tertiary education replicate the pattern of positive selection that is systematically found among the general migrant population. Our paper compares leavers and stayers using social background and selected individuality traits to study this phenomenon. Using the first large-scale representative survey of Chinese students enrolled in tertiary education in China, Germany, and the UK, we provide two critical findings. Firstly, we find a pattern of hyper-selection by social background among Chinese students abroad compared with stayers at home, although international education is a more democratic phenomenon than is generally believed. Secondly, we find that selection in terms of "unobservable" individuality traits is rather modest.

Suggested Citation

  • Cebolla-Boado, Héctor & Nuhoglu Soysal, Yasemin, 2023. "Selectivity among educational migrants? A multi-sited investigation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 442-466.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:338064
    DOI: 10.1080/21620555.2023.2249589
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steven Kennedy & Michael P. Kidd & James Ted McDonald & Nicholas Biddle, 2015. "The Healthy Immigrant Effect: Patterns and Evidence from Four Countries," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 317-332, May.
    2. Herman G. van de Werfhorst & Anthony Heath, 2019. "Selectivity of Migration and the Educational Disadvantages of Second-Generation Immigrants in Ten Host Societies," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(2), pages 347-378, May.
    3. Fernando Riosmena & Randall Kuhn & Warren C. Jochem, 2017. "Explaining the Immigrant Health Advantage: Self-selection and Protection in Health-Related Factors Among Five Major National-Origin Immigrant Groups in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(1), pages 175-200, February.
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