Determinants of Mobility of Students in Europe: Empirical Evidence for the Period, 1998-2009

This article studies the economic determinants of intra-European student mobility. We constructed a panel of 33 European countries for the period 1998-2009. The dependent variable is the inflow of foreign students (International Standard Classification of Education [ISCED] 5-6) from European Union (EU)-27, European Economic Area (EEA), and candidate countries. Results show that (a) the expenditure per student appears to be a crucial determinant. It is reasonable to maintain that students are likely to choose countries where the students are granted with adequately funded services and perhaps monetary incentives. Eventually, other significant determinants are (a) the actual level of safety, (b) the degree of openness of host country, and (c) the GDP per capita of host country.