Local Labour Market Outcomes of Educational Migration

Abstract

Thus far, the majority of studies have focused on international student migration. Less attention has been paid to internal migration for tertiary education and even less to local effects caused by this category of migration. To redress this limitation, the paper determines the most important consequences of internal migration for university enrolment in the local labour market of a university city. This is shown through the example of the Polish university city with one of the highest student-to-population ratios – Opole. The study is based on the literature review and the result of qualitative and quantitative research conducted in Opole. The first was conducted among students and the second among owners and employees of local enterprises. Findings of the research suggest that the inflow of students to the university city can lead to short- run and long-run effects on the local economy. Findings of the research suggest that in the short run the inflow of students to the university city leads to structurally important changes in the labour supply and creates new jobs. In the long run, it leads to permanent changes in labour resources, attracts investors to the city and causes permanent changes in the labour demand. The analysed outcomes of migration for tertiary education are only a small but vital part of the consequences of education migration. The global spread of the coronavirus has also stressed the importance of educational migrants in university cities. The impact of pandemic COVID-19 on university cities should be the subject of future research.