The costs and benefits of international students by parliamentary constituency. Report for the Higher Education Policy Institute and Kaplan International Pathways

Background

The United Kingdom Home Secretary Amber Rudd commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee on the 24 August 2017 to complete a detailed study of the social and economic impact of international students in the UK.

That report had yet to report. The report published in January 2018 by the Higher Education Policy Institute and Kaplan International Pathways was a separate report.

Nick Hillman, Director, HEPI, said:

International students bring economic benefits to the UK that are worth ten times the costs of hosting them.

Trying to persuade the Home Office that international students nearly always benefit the UK can feel like banging one’s head against a brick wall. In the past, they have not accepted figures on the benefits on the grounds that they ignore the costs. Our work, in contrast, includes all the potential costs and conclusively proves these are small compared to the huge benefits.

We welcomed the Government’s decision to ask the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to investigate international students. We now implore Ministers and civil servants as well as the MAC to take this new evidence with the seriousness that it merits. Given the detail that we are presenting, we also urge the MAC to report earlier than the planned date of September 2018.
The Higher Education Policy Institute and Kaplan International Pathways jointly publishing in January 2018 a major new piece of research, The costs and benefits of international students by parliamentary constituency, undertaken by London Economics.

Unlike earlier research, this study provided a detailed analysis of the costs as well as the benefits to the UK of welcoming 231,000 new international students each year. It showed:

+ the gross benefits – including tuition fees, other spending and economic knock-on effects – of international students amount to £22.6 billion
+ these gross benefits were, on average, £87,000 for each EU student and £102,000 for each non-EU student
+ the public costs of hosting international students – including education, health and social security – total £2.3 billion
+ these public costs are, on average, £19,000 for each EU student and £7,000 for each non-EU student
+ the net impact (benefits minus costs) of hosting international students totaled £20.3 billion
+ this net impact was, on average, £68,000 for each EU student and £95,000 for each non-EU student

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

HEPI: News, 11.01.18: New study shows the benefits of international students are ten times greater than the costs – and are worth £310 per UK resident http://www.hepi.ac.uk/2018/01/11/new-figures-show-international-students-worth-22-7-billion-uk-cost-2-3-billion-net-gain-31-million-per-constituency-310-per-uk-resident/?utm_source=UUK+Bulletin&utm_campaign=121bee1a8c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_99e42a5336-121bee1a8c-100549281

Universities UK: News, 11.01.18: New study highlights net impact of international students http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/news/Pages/New-study-highlights-net-impact-of-international-students.aspx

BBC News, 11.01.17: Overseas students 'add £20bn' to UK economy http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42637971

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