Human capital is a crucial determinant of regional development, and universities evidently play a important role for regional human capital accumulation. However, graduates of local universities will only increase the human capital endowment if they stay in the university region. Outward migration might especially be an issue for smaller and economically lagging regions, which usually have problems keeping and attracting young, highly skilled workers. Therefore, understanding the migration decision of graduates when looking for a job after studying is of particular importance for lagging regions with institutions of higher education.
In their new article, Christian Teichert, Annekatrin Niebuhr, Anne Otto and Anja Rossen analyse another component of the migration decision: prior work experience. Employment prior to graduation might influence migration because it gives rise to location-specific knowledge and job-relevant networks. Graduates’ contacts with local employers evidently affect the migration decision. The authors use a unique micro data set which combines student records of German universities with administrative social security records. They found evidence of a significant relationships between prior work experience gained inside or outside the university region and the probability of outward migration, pointing to the importance of labour market contacts, local human capital and social networks for labour market entry and related mobility. However, the size of the effect depends on the type of work experience and the sector- and occupation-specificity.
Teichert, C; Niebuhr, A.; Otto, A.; Rossen, A. (2020): Work experience and graduate migration. An event history analysis of German data. Regional Studies. DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2020.1716965
