Foreign Students and Graduates in European Border Regions

Completion of the single European labour market is a crucial element of modern EU policy. The project “Foreign students and graduates in European border regions” aims to investigate the economic drivers of cross-border labour and educational mobility and to determine the effect of additional costs associated with transnational mobility on migration flows of workers and students. In this project I seek to provide a causal evidence of the impact of exogenous labour market shocks on cross-border mobility. Using spatial and temporal differences in rollout of such policies as regulatory harmonization of educational systems during Bologna Process, changes in occupational standards (e.g. due to introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards) and relicensing requirements, I will study to which extent country- and occupation- specific requirements to vocational education and training impede labor migration. I will also explore possible heterogeneity of the impact by sector, education backgrounds, gender and occupation, and consider the role of transport infrastructure and networking effect in facilitating cross-border mobility.

The project is of high relevance for both policymakers and academic researchers. The findings of the study, on the one hand, can help to better understand how policies should be designed to provide labour market efficiency and deliver optimal re-allocation of skilled workers. On the other hand, it adds to a discussion of possible determinants of labour migration and helps to shed light on an issue of over-education among immigrant population.

Researcher: Alina Shirshikova (see profile)

Supervisors: Frank Cörvers, Raymond Montizaan, Harald Pfeifer (see profiles)