Hybrid seminar: University as a Melting Pot: Long-term Effects of International Peers

The increasing globalization of higher education has sparked ongoing debates about the impact of international student presence on natives. This paper provides the first evidence on the impact of exposure to international students on the long-term outcomes of native students. I use Dutch administrative and survey data on one million students and employ an across-cohort design. My identification strategy relies on idiosyncratic variation in the share of international students within university programs over time. I find that exposure to international students leads native students to (i) form more social ties with non-natives, (ii) seek opportunities abroad, and (iii) hold more positive attitudes towards migration. In contrast, I find precisely estimated zero educational and labor market effects up to 25 years after university entry. These findings suggest that policies promoting international student mobility can contribute to more diverse and integrated campuses and societies without compromising the economic outcomes of native students.