Studying abroad and earnings: A meta-analysis

Abstract

The increasing number of university students partic ipating in international mobility programs worldwide calls for a better understanding of the effects of studying abroad. Despite the frequent claim that these programs enhance participants’ labor market prospects, there is no clear consensus in the literature about their impact on earnings. The present article attempts to shed light on this issue by applying meta-analysis techniques to 166 estimates of returns to studying abroad from 17 studies. Summary measures used in meta-analysis indicate that participation in study abroad programs during university studies has a small positive effect on post-graduation earnings. However, due to the high heterogeneity and publication bias, this conclusion should be interpreted very cautiously. Multivariate meta-regression analysis shows that the omission of relevant variables from the wage equation, the econometric methods employed, and the duration of the study abroad experience contribute to explain variation in the empirical finding.