The Effect of a University Degree in English on International Labor Mobility

Abstract

I investigate the effect of studying in English in a non-English speaking country, Italy, on international labor market mobility. I exploit the introduction of master's degrees offered in English by a university while students are already enrolled in a bachelor's program as an instrument for studying in English. I find that English-taught degrees increase an individual's probability of working abroad by 11.3 percentage points. The results are driven by students outside of the top-10 universities in Italy and students from universities in less-developed regions of the country.

Keywords: education, labor, high-skilled migration, work abroad, graduates

JEL Classification: I21, I23, I26, J24, J61