An established fact is that higher education attracts immigrants. How does this affect the intranational location choices of native graduates in their early careers? Using administrative Swiss data, I exploit idiosyncratic variation in the student composition across time within a study field and university. I show that a higher exposure to international students induces natives who grew up in rural places to work more often in urban areas, while I find no evidence for an effect on their residential choice. This implies that the economic activity of highly skilled individuals becomes more concentrated in urban locations. I also show that the response of natives is likely driven by changes in preferences rather than labor market conditions, despite relatively high stay rates of international students.
Language
English
HSG Profile Area
SEPS - Quantitative Economic Methods
Event Title
77th Annual Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance