The Education Abroad and Income Paradox: A Research Note

Youths of a country seem to be less interested in going abroad when the per capita GDP of the country reaches a certain level. This education abroad and income paradox is supported by data from a number of countries/regions whose education abroad numbers have peaked. A rough value of $30,000 US in per capita income in purchasing power parity terms seems to be the threshold for a country's interests in education abroad to decline. If confirmed, this per capita GDP threshold can be used as a numerical tool to forecast the future supply of international students in different source countries.