Internationalisation of education and its effect on economic growth and development

Abstract

This study examines the effect of education export on economic growth and development, using Australia as a case study since it is one of the top destinations for international students. International education has played a vital role in Australia's economy over the last three decades, becoming the third‐largest export of Australia after iron ore and coal and earning AU$40.3 billion in 2019. The sector supports about 250,000 jobs and provides an important source of skilled migrants for Australia. This study employs the cointegration and error correction model and quarterly data from 1974 to 2019 to analyse the effect of internationalisation of education on the Australian economy. The results suggest a long‐run positive relationship and a short‐run dynamic effect of international education on the economic growth and employment of Australia. The findings of this study have far‐reaching implications for other education‐exporting countries. Policy recommendations suggest taking proactive, flexible and innovative approaches to attract international students, and diversifying the market can support growth of the sector and enhance the economy‐wide spillover effects. The study further proposes sound and timely policies to promote the internationalisation of education to augment not only economic growth but also long‐run development for both education‐exporting and education‐receiving countries.

Challenges and policies for promoting internationalization—The case of Iranian public universities

“…• Public diplomacy: security, stability, peace and ideological influence (Chowdhury, 2022;de Wit & Yemini et al, 2015;Svetlik & Braček Lalić, 2016) • Migration of skilled labour and attracting talent (Vincent-Lancrina, 2014) • Revenue generation and capacity building (Alizadeh & Pourghane, 2022) • Gaining a greater awareness of global issues and mutual understanding across countries, cultures and languages (Alizadeh & Pourghane, 2022;Hénard et al, 2012;Hsieh, 2020;Svetlik & Braček Lalić, 2016;Wihlborg & Robson, 2018) • Presence in the global labour market (Hakimzade, 2012) • Increase national competitiveness (Chowdhury, 2022) • Long-run effect on economic growth and employment (Chowdhury, 2022;Hsieh, 2020) Institutional level…”

“…Higher education (HE) contributes to long-term economic growth and development through increasing productivity, inventing new products, increasing trade, productivity and competitiveness, and strengthening human capital development (Chowdhury, 2022). The internationalization of HE can benefit society by providing intercultural awareness and experience, joint academic efforts to solve socioeconomic problems at the national and international levels, attracting international talent-faculty members, researchers and students-to work at higher education institutions (HEIs) and in industry and providing access to advanced knowledge and technologies.…”

The responsibility of ensuring food security: a cross-country study on reducing the impact of agricultural industries on vulnerability to climate change

“…Education provides a baseline for accruing knowledge to address complex problems, and investments in education contribute to the development of a nation’s human capital (Chowdhury, 2022). Human capital encompasses knowledge, skills and capabilities and is critical to individual and societal advancement and functioning (Becker, 2009; Cui and Martins, 2021).…”

Why confidence leads to swifter tertiary education choices: A qualitative study of the international tertiary education industry of Australia

“…Given the recent removal of international border restrictions around the world, there is a heightened sense of urgency now to regain a lot of the international tertiary student market lost through the COVID-19 pandemic [ 8 ]. This is due not only because of the boost to tertiary education providers and their bottom line, but also because of the flow on effect of international students for tourism, job creation, skilled migration, and general economic benefits [ 9 ].…”