Universities, agglomerations and graduate human capital mobility

Abstract

In this paper we examine one aspect of agglomeration, namely the geography of human capital. In some contexts, human capital may be very mobile, and understanding local agglomeration processes therefore requires us to consider inter-regional flows of human capital. In particular, here we discuss the flows of students in Great Britain from domicile into university and then the flows of graduate human capital from university into first employment. We then estimate the local/non-local pattern of these flows as a function of the characteristics of the university, of the student population, and of the local region. Our findings suggest that university attendance in Great Britain is generally associated with very significant levels of human capital mobility, and only certain types of higher education institutions play a significant employment role in their local economies.