Research Snapshot: The economic role of international students
International Students as Sources of Income? Moving Beyond the Neoliberal Framing of Internationalization
Published date: 07 November 2023
This research is part of Tijmen Weber’s PhD project and investigates whether international students have become a source of income for higher education institutions in Western countries. Initial results showed significant variation between Western countries in how higher education institutions are funded. These variations were explained, leading to an interesting conclusion: the dominant narrative that international students are primarily used as a source of income due to government cutbacks might be largely an Anglo-Saxon phenomenon. Researchers on international student mobility, especially those in Anglo-Saxon countries, may find this research particularly interesting.
The findings challenge some dominant perceptions in the literature and show that international students have not simply been reduced to cash cows everywhere in the world.
About the authors
Key findings from the research:
- The relationship between incoming international students and types of funding differs significantly between Western countries.
- The narrative that international students are primarily used as a source of income in the whole Western world is not supported by the evidence.
- There is likely an Anglo-Saxon bias in the literature about this topic and it is important to look beyond their perspective.
