Do Study Abroad Programs Enhance the Employability of Graduates?

Abstract

Using data on a large sample of recent Italian graduates, this paper investigates the extent to which participation in study abroad programs during university studies impacts subsequent employment likelihood. To address the problem of endogeneity related to participation in study abroad programs, I use a combination of fixed effects and instrumental variable estimation where the instrumental variable is exposure to international student exchange schemes. My estimates show that studying abroad has a relatively large and statistically meaningful effect on the probability of being in employment three years after graduation. This effect is mainly driven by the impact that study abroad programs have on the employment prospects of graduates from disadvantaged (but not very disadvantaged) backgrounds, though positive but imprecise effects are also found for graduates from advantaged backgrounds.