International Student Migration: Evidence from Finland on Who Stays, Why, and Returns in the Labor Market

Thursday, November 8 at 2:30-3:30
Erickson Hall, Room 252

In tandem with growing enrollments globally, an increasing number of students are studying internationally with each passing year. The rapid increase of student mobility and migration has raised questions of how many international students choose to stay in the country where they studied and what happens if they stay.

This presentation encompasses three papers examining the factors influencing international students’ choice to stay in Finland and their associated returns in the Finnish labor market. The data used in the papers come from national (Finnish) registries and allow for following students longitudinally across multiple (e.g., labor, family, housing) sectors. The presentation concludes with discussions of labor market outcomes of international students, including comparisons with Finnish (domestic) students and the financial ‘net benefit’ (tax revenues – social welfare transfers) for the Finnish government of hosting international students.

Charles Mathies is an Academy of Finland Research Fellow based at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research in the University of Jyväskylä (Finland). Previously he has held multiple research and university management positions in Europe and the United States.