Does the Development Level of the Origin Country of International Students Influence Where They Enrol? A Case Study of the Netherlands

ABSTRACT In this paper we investigate the relationship between the development level of international students' origin countries and within‐country destination preferences. We theorize that international students from lower developed countries are more likely to choose higher quality study programmes and enrol in fields of studies that are regarded to have better career prospects. International students from higher developed countries, on the contrary, are theorized to show more variety in the fields of study they enrol, and to be more likely to enrol in institutions that are in cities with more amenities. To test these hypotheses, we make use of a full population data set containing nearly every international student in the Netherlands for the years 2016–2019. Our results suggest that students from lower developed countries are indeed more likely to enrol in fields of studies traditionally associated with better labour market outcomes. We also find evidence that master students from lower developed countries are more likely to enrol in higher quality programmes, while master students from higher developed countries are more likely to choose institutions in cities that are larger and/or have more amenities. Interestingly, for bachelor students the results are less conclusive. Together, these findings offer new insights to the existing literature and open up new avenues for research which could help us better understand the heterogeneity in international students' enrolment decisions.