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What Does Global Expansion of Higher Education Mean for the US?

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  • Richard B. Freeman

Abstract

This study documents the rapid spread of higher education around the world and the consequent reduced share of the US in the world's university students and graduates. It shows that the proportion of young persons who go to college has risen in many advanced countries to exceed that in the US while human capital leapfrogging in the huge populous developing countries has produced massive increases in their university educated work forces. One result of the expansion of higher education overseas is that the US has come to rely extensively on the immigration of highly educated persons to maintain a lead position in science and technology. International students make up roughly half of university graduate immigrants to the US, which makes policies toward those students a key determinant in the country's success in attracting immigrant talent.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard B. Freeman, 2009. "What Does Global Expansion of Higher Education Mean for the US?," NBER Working Papers 14962, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14962
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    Cited by:

    1. Pia M. Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny, 2015. "Does Immigration Affect Whether US Natives Major in Science and Engineering?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(S1), pages 79-108.
    2. Mobarak, Ahmed & Maskus, Keith & Stuen, Eric T., 2010. "Skilled Immigration and Innovation: Evidence from Enrollment Fluctuations in U.S. Doctoral Programs," CEPR Discussion Papers 7709, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Li, Shi & Whalley, John & Xing, Chunbing, 2014. "China's higher education expansion and unemployment of college graduates," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 567-582.
    4. John G. Fernald & Charles I. Jones, 2014. "The Future of US Economic Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(5), pages 44-49, May.
    5. Takao Kato & Chad Sparber, 2013. "Quotas and Quality: The Effect of H-1B Visa Restrictions on the Pool of Prospective Undergraduate Students from Abroad," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(1), pages 109-126, March.
    6. Jeffrey Grogger & Gordon H. Hanson, 2013. "Attracting Talent: Location Choices of Foreign-Born PhDs in the US," NBER Working Papers 18780, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Xing, Chunbing & Yang, Peng & Li, Zhilong, 2018. "The medium-run effect of China's higher education expansion on the unemployment of college graduates," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 181-193.
    8. Wright, Nicholas A., 2021. "Need-based financing policies, college decision-making, and labor market behavior: Evidence from Jamaica," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    9. Andreas Reinstaller & Isabel Stadler & Fabian Unterlass, 2012. "Die Arbeitskräftemobilität in der Hochschulforschung in der EU und in Österreich," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 85(2), pages 105-119, February.
    10. Patrick Gaule & Mario Piacentini, 2015. "Immigration and Innovation: Chinese Graduate Students in U.S. Universities," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp529, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    11. Jeffrey Grogger & Gordon H. Hanson, 2015. "Attracting Talent: Location Choices of Foreign-Born PhDs in the United States," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(S1), pages 5-38.
    12. John Bound & Gaurav Khanna & Nicolas Morales, 2017. "Understanding the Economic Impact of the H-1B Program on the United States," NBER Chapters, in: High-Skilled Migration to the United States and Its Economic Consequences, pages 109-175, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Rachel Griffith & Helen Miller, 2011. "Innovation in China: the rise of Chinese inventors in the production of knowledge," IFS Working Papers W11/15, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    14. John Bound & Gaurav Khanna & Nicolas Morales, 2017. "Understanding the Economic Impact of the H-1B Program on the U.S," NBER Working Papers 23153, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Griffith, Rachel & Abramovsky, Laura & Miller, Helen, 2012. "Offshoring high-skilled jobs: EU multinationals and domestic employment of inventors," CEPR Discussion Papers 8837, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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