International student mobility and retention: evidence from discrete choice experiments

International student mobility offers considerable economic benefits to host countries, yet it is increasingly challenged by shifting policies on funding, migration, and tuition fees. To inform strategies aimed at maximizing these benefits, this paper investigates the determinants of international students' institutional choices and their decisions to remain in the host country post-graduation. We conduct two Discrete Choice Experiments, enriched with detailed demographic information. We find that tuition fees are the most important determinant of university choice. Moreover, our results suggest that international students are willing to forego up to €8597 in annual tuition fees to attend a higher ranked university. For post-graduation decisions, easing immigration hurdles increases the probability of staying by 11.62 to 23.99 percentage points. Next, we show substantial preference heterogeneity across different student groups. The stay intention is 9 percentage points higher among visa-requiring students and between 4.6 and 6.2 percentage points higher among students with their own income source, suggesting that integration mechanisms may strengthen willingness to stay. These findings provide actionable insights for policymakers seeking to design targeted strategies to attract and retain international talent.