Page 15 - Griffenomics

SPRING ISSUE

GRIFFENOMICS

15

EDUCATION

FACT:

ACCORDING TO THE FINANCIAL TIMES SCHOOL RANKINGS, ABINGDON SCHOOL WAS RANKED 42ND IN 2011

AWAY FROM HOME

Why would students want to study abroad?

T

here are more than 500,000 in-

ternational students studying in

UK universities and alternative

providers such as private colleges and

secondary schools.

During this decade,

however, this number could rise by a fur-

ther 100,000. Why would students from

abroad want to seek education in the UK,

instead of staying in their own country

where they grew up and hence, where

they aremost familiar?Why give up their

old, comfortable life and put their future

well-being at stake?

Steve Woodfield, a senior researcher

in higher education policy at Kingston

University in the UK, suggests that stu-

dents are looking for a better education.

As economies in developing countries

such as the BRICs have grown, the dis-

posable income of middle class fami-

lies, who want to send their children to

a better study environment, grows. As a

result, families who are willing to send

their children abroad will do so. Educa-

tion from high quality universities and

colleges is a luxury service, hence the in-

come elasticity of demand, which is the

responsiveness of the quantity demand-

ed of a good or service to a percentage

change in the income of the customer,

for high quality education is positive

and greater than one. This shows that

education is a service that will receive a

relatively large increase in demand when

people earn more. Therefore, students

with the economic power to study abroad

will flock to countries with universities

of better quality, such as those in the UK

and the USA.

Students may also study abroad as

many developed countries contain mul-

tiple universities that are recognised by

the world as ideal sites at which to study.

Students will choose those well-known

universities because they will receive a

value added education. A value added

feature is an add-on that gives an item

a greater sense of value, which in other

words is basically an eye catching piece

of jewellery that will make one stand out

from the crowd. In this case, the value

added item is a degree from a world fa-

mous university, which acts as a highlight

in your CV. Some firms receive thousands

of applications per month, meaning that

they will only pick “interesting” or “co-

lourful” resumes from the pile. There-

fore, a degree from a famous university

will give one an edge over other competi-

tors when looking for employment.

Education is used to adjust the pro-

ductive capacity of an economy, which

is the maximum value of goods and ser-

vices a country can provide in a given

amount of time, as a better education

will increase an employee’s productivity

or rate of work. Countries would benefit

from the increase in productive capacity,

as the country would be able to produce

more goods and services at the same

price level. Therefore, governments have

adopted schemes or policies that give

aid to students who want and have the

ability to study abroad. For example, the

Macau government, which is near Hong

Kong, will give full economic aid to stu-

dents who have been accepted by any

university that is featured in the top 50

around the world, as long as they come

back to work in Macau for four years af-

ter graduation. Government aid to stu-

dents can be seen as a form of spending,

while students are the labour, which is a

factor that aects the rate of production

of a country. If a government increases

spending on labour, the country should

in theory be able to produce more goods

at the same price level in the long run,

when they return after their period of

study. The international competitiveness

of a country should increase, which gives

an incentive for governments to give aid

to students with potential.

Policies may also be introduced by

governments to increase the number or

quota of international students they ac-

cept. By having more students in their

country, the total consumption within

the country will increase, meaning that

firms that produce domestic goods will

gainmorecustomersandprofit. Relatives

and familymembers of studentsmay also

visit occasionally. This means that the

country will receive a boost to exports,

as money gained outside the country is

being spent within the country. The cur-

rent account of a country, which, essen-

tially, is the dierence between money

going out of a nation and money coming

in, should therefore be boosted, as mon-

ey fromoutside has flown in. If the nation

has a current account deficit, like the UK,

the addition of tourists in the country

should help balance it out. Another ef-

fect of the increased number of students

from abroad may be an increase in popu-

lation, if students choose to relocate (as-

suming they’re not contractually obliged

to return to their country of origin, as

previously mentioned). Consequently,

the country’s productive capacity should

increase, as there would be an increase

in the quantity of labour. This, as stated

before, will increase the competitiveness

of a country.

Certain firms in developing countries

may oer economic aid to students who

choose to study at universities abroad,

with the condition that the student has to

sign a work contract with the firm, which

will immediately come into eect after

graduation. Not only would this increase

the productivity of future employees by

methods of education and training, it

would also increase the business ties of

less well-known firms in developing na-

tions with established firms in developed

countries. This can be seen as an invest-

ment by a firm, as the firm is spending

money on people who they believe will

help in the future development of the

firm. Moreover, the business ties may

provide trading opportunities, which

could benefit both firms in the long term,

with further economic aid being made

available for talented students, poten-

tially.

As one can see, education abroad

holds many possibilities for both stu-

dents and governments. For students,

not only will the trip be a valuable piece

of experience and knowledge, it may also

help some gain friends and connections

with people around the world. In a future

where an increasingly globalised world

has raised the levels of competition dra-

matically, some friends here and there

will surely help one on the road to suc-

cess.