International mobility of students in Italy and the UK: does it pay off and for whom?

• Published in: Higher education Vol. 82; no. 6; pp. 1173 - 1194
• Main Authors: d’Hombres, Béatrice, Schnepf, Sylke V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.12.2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: College graduates; College Students; Economic aspects; Education; Educational systems; Employers; Employment; Employment Potential; Foreign Countries; Foreign Students; Geographic mobility; Graduate studies; Higher Education; International aspects; Labor Market; Mobility; Probability; Propensity; Social Differences; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic Status; Student Mobility; Students; Students, Foreign; Study abroad; Uptake; Italy; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK; Propensity score matching; Italy; Labour market outcomes; International student mobility; UK; Mobility abroad
• ISSN: 0018-1560; 1573-174X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10734-020-00631-1

More and more European higher education students decide to take part in international student mobility (ISM). However, not much is known about the actual benefits of studying abroad. This paper assesses UK and Italian students’ returns from ISM. Three research questions are addressed. First, does international student mobility increase graduates’ employment probability and postgraduate study uptake? Second, do the returns to ISM differ according to the socio-economic background of graduates? Third, do the returns to ISM vary between two countries with contrasting labour market and education systems? Results, based on propensity score matching, indicate that mobility is positively associated with a higher employment probability. Mobility abroad is likewise linked with a higher likelihood of enrolling in postgraduate studies in Italy. The benefits of mobility in terms of employment do not differ significantly across socio-economic groups. However, mobility is particularly effective in boosting the uptake of postgraduate studies among mobile Italian graduates with a low socio-economic background. In Italy, ISM returns are substantially higher than in the UK, which could reflect that the skills accumulated and the signals sent to potential employers through ISM are greater in Italy.