Does Higher Education Enhance Migration?

50 Pages Posted: 4 Dec 2013

See all articles by Mika Haapanen

Mika Haapanen

University of Jyväskylä - School of Business and Economics

Petri Bockerman

Labour Institute for Economic Research; University of Turku - Turku School of Economics

Abstract

This paper examines the causal impact of education on within-country migration. A major higher education reform took place in Finland in the 1990s. It gradually transformed former vocational colleges into polytechnics and expanded higher education to all regions. The reform created exogenous variation in the regional supply of higher education. Using the reform as an instrument, our estimation results show that polytechnic graduates have a 7.5 (13.7) percentage points higher migration probability during a three-year (six-year) follow-up period than vocational college graduates.

Keywords: migration, higher education, vocational education, polytechnic education, school reform

JEL Classification: J10, J61, I20, R23

Suggested Citation

Haapanen, Mika and Bockerman, Petri and Bockerman, Petri, Does Higher Education Enhance Migration?. IZA Discussion Paper No. 7754, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2363241 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2363241

Mika Haapanen (Contact Author)

University of Jyväskylä - School of Business and Economics ( email )

University of Jyväskylä
PO Box 35
FIN 40351, FIN-40014
Finland

Petri Bockerman

University of Turku - Turku School of Economics ( email )

Rehtorinpellonkatu 3
TURKU, FI-20500
Finland

Labour Institute for Economic Research ( email )

FIN-00530 Helsinki
Finland
+358 9 2535 7332 (Phone)
+358 9 2535 7332 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.petribockerman.fi/

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