Brexit and Foreign Students in Gravity

This paper examines the impact of Brexit on international student migration. In a structural gravity model, I estimate student migration between 69 countries for counterfactual scenarios in which the United Kingdom leaves the European Union one year before the referendum. This exercise reveals a significant drop in international student migration to the UK. While the number of non-EU students to the UK rises, a decrease in EU student numbers drives this result. Similarly, the model finds fewer UK students studying abroad. The estimated changes in international student stocks show that most other member countries lose international students and non-EU countries host more than without Brexit.