Why do they return? Beyond the economic drivers of graduate return migration

Abstract

This paper explores the factors that shape the location choices of formerly mobile graduates (FMGs) initially resident in Sardinia, Italy, a less developed European region. Combining qualitative and quantitative techniques, the paper examines the reasons why some individuals decide to return after their studies, the factors that shape their decisions and how these choices unfolded in space and time. It counters the literature, which suggests that migration is a one-off linear process driven only by wealth-maximising behaviour, positing rather that access to opportunities in open meritocratic job markets and circular migration trajectories are far more salient to FMGs. This suggests that policy makers should concentrate on promoting labour market opportunities and invest in social networks that will aid brain circulation. JEL Classification

Return to the countryside: The return intentions of highly educated young people in the Akmola province of northern Kazakhstan

“…After the initial move to university, students need to decide to stay after graduation, return home, or move elsewhere. 1 Crescenzi, Holman, and Orru (2017) find that professional reasons are important for graduates who do not return, whereas family and sentimental ties are the key drivers of returning graduates. Therefore, limiting the focus to economic issues, particularly in the rural labour market, would not provide a clear picture (Niedomysl & Amcoff, 2011).…”

Analyzing Determining Factors of Young Graduates’ Decision to Stay in Lagged Regions

“…In addition, the coefficient of the spatial consistency between university and job location (2.017) was higher than that between domicile and job location (0.462). Namely, young graduates were willing to find jobs in the region of their university rather than their hometown: staying in a university region could provide young graduates with the opportunities to maintain their social network and to maximize their contacts within local companies [6,21]. 201045.57 Prob > chi2 0.000…”

“…An increase in R&D expenditure could affect the economies of scale of outputs, so it is possible to examine whether there are economies of scale with respect to university students using the interaction effect of R&D investment and state-owned universities. In addition, the decision regarding job location of graduates who studied at colleges in lagged regions depended on employment opportunities and high wages [1,2], job security [22], the location of job experience, living cost and self-employment [5,21], and ties with family and the emotional comfort gained from familiarity [7], as shown in Equation 2. A brief description of the variables is summarized in the Appendix A.…”

“…Another finding is that young graduates have been widely known to return due to economic benefits [3,10,20]. Ample opportunities for labor performance and high wages were expected to be the main reasons for graduates to return [1,2,21]. They were likely to go back to regions for job security and opportunities to be hired by top research institutes [22], while low unemployment rates did not seem to be an attractive condition.…”

“…Individual experience affected young graduates' return to lagged regions. Young graduates were likely to go back when they attended a college near to their hometown or they had job experience outside the region [21]. Lots of young graduates returned to their hometown as self-employed workers [11].…”