Out-migration of university enrolment: the mobility behaviour of Italian students

Abstract

Purpose Student mobility from the south to the north/centre of Italy is an increasingly crucial topic because the most important consequence is the continual depletion of universities situated in the southern regions. Using micro-data from the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), the purpose of this paper is to investigate how contextual factors affect this mobility. Design/methodology/approach Empirical evidence is provided by developing a multilevel logit model of student decisions to move at university enrolment that allows us to identify the unique effects that student and province characteristics have on out-migration. Multilevel analysis is appropriate because the research questions focus on the role of province characteristics, variables that are measured at the macro level, on student-level outcome (out-migration) while controlling for student-level characteristics, variables that are measured at the micro level. Findings The present paper intends to contribute to the literature by quantifying the way in which contextual factors affect student mobility from the south to the north/centre of Italy. Findings show that province differences remain significant even after controlling for individual characteristics stressing the importance of the geographical dimension for student mobility. These findings have important policy implications for the future of university system in Italy. Originality/value This paper is relevant to the literature concerning this issue because most of the empirical applications are based on spatial models that do not take into account individual characteristics of the students. In addition, the multilevel methodology proposed can be easily generalise to other countries.

A new measure for the attitude to mobility of Italian students and graduates: a topological data analysis approach

“…In both the South and the Islands, the high school mobility flows of males students are proportionally wider than those of females students, and those of students with a higher final mark are wider than those with a lower mark. These findings are in agreement with what stated in Attanasio and Priulla (2020);D'Agostino et al (2019), Percentage values in italics in which the authors notice: (i) gender difference in the entity of the mobility flow, but no difference in the macro-region in which they move and (ii) higher mobility for students with higher high school diploma. Figure 5 displays the distributions of the students from the South and the Islands by their macro-region of residence before and at the year of enrolment ( 2008) and the type of high school diploma.…”

Italian Youth in International Context

“…), and no substantial change is observed when controlling for school-type and grades. Gender differences in student mobility decisions seem to confirm the more traditional vision of the female role in society, typical of southern regions of Italy (D'Agostino et al, 2019). Further, social background effects are substantial: children belonging to higher status families are more likely to be movers (+14 p.p.…”

Quality of life, quality of business, and destinations of recent graduates: fields of study matter

“…Distance is a strong deterrent: closer HEIs are preferred over those further away (Sá et al 2004 ). Students are also attracted to larger agglomerations (Sá et al 2006 ), possibly because of a greater choice of HEIs (Böckerman and Haapanen 2013 ) and because of greater post-study job opportunities (D’Agostino et al 2019 ). On the other hand, high rents in such agglomerations are a deterrent (Sá et al 2004 ) and students do like natural amenties (Dotzel 2017 ).…”