Language Learning Opportunities Abroad and International Student Mobility to China

This paper empirically investigates whether Chinese language learning opportunities abroad have exerted a positive effect on international student mobility (ISM) to China. We utilize both official and self-compiled panel data for 182 countries, spanning a period of 15 years. We use the establishment...

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Main Authors: Jingjing Lyu, Yue Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2024-11-01
Series:SAGE Open
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241293536
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author Jingjing Lyu
Yue Huang
author_facet Jingjing Lyu
Yue Huang
author_sort Jingjing Lyu
collection DOAJ
description This paper empirically investigates whether Chinese language learning opportunities abroad have exerted a positive effect on international student mobility (ISM) to China. We utilize both official and self-compiled panel data for 182 countries, spanning a period of 15 years. We use the establishment of Confucius Institutes as an indicator of Chinese language learning opportunities. As our benchmark regressions, we employ fixed effects models with both linear and nonlinear regressors. Our findings provide support for a significant positive impact of language learning opportunities on ISM, with evidence suggesting a diminishing marginal effect. This result is seldom documented in the existing literature. We verify the robustness of our findings in three ways. First, we assess whether the number of international students changes significantly before the exposure to Chinese language learning opportunities. Next, we examine if our main findings remain consistent when controlling for region-specific trends. Finally, we test the robustness of our main results against various changes in the estimation sample. We also find evidence of effect heterogeneity based on countries’ geographic distance to China, the linguistic distance from their official language to Chinese, and their income levels. This paper argues that exposure to the destination country’s language and culture is a critical determinant of students’ decisions to study abroad in that country. JEL Classification: F22, I20, N30.
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spelling doaj-art-264d301f18a34f509741c1e6ff41c3602025-08-20T02:52:46ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402024-11-011410.1177/21582440241293536Language Learning Opportunities Abroad and International Student Mobility to ChinaJingjing Lyu0Yue Huang1Business School, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, ChinaGlobal Labor Organization (GLO), Essen, GermanyThis paper empirically investigates whether Chinese language learning opportunities abroad have exerted a positive effect on international student mobility (ISM) to China. We utilize both official and self-compiled panel data for 182 countries, spanning a period of 15 years. We use the establishment of Confucius Institutes as an indicator of Chinese language learning opportunities. As our benchmark regressions, we employ fixed effects models with both linear and nonlinear regressors. Our findings provide support for a significant positive impact of language learning opportunities on ISM, with evidence suggesting a diminishing marginal effect. This result is seldom documented in the existing literature. We verify the robustness of our findings in three ways. First, we assess whether the number of international students changes significantly before the exposure to Chinese language learning opportunities. Next, we examine if our main findings remain consistent when controlling for region-specific trends. Finally, we test the robustness of our main results against various changes in the estimation sample. We also find evidence of effect heterogeneity based on countries’ geographic distance to China, the linguistic distance from their official language to Chinese, and their income levels. This paper argues that exposure to the destination country’s language and culture is a critical determinant of students’ decisions to study abroad in that country. JEL Classification: F22, I20, N30.https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241293536
spellingShingle Jingjing Lyu
Yue Huang
Language Learning Opportunities Abroad and International Student Mobility to China
SAGE Open
title Language Learning Opportunities Abroad and International Student Mobility to China
title_full Language Learning Opportunities Abroad and International Student Mobility to China
title_fullStr Language Learning Opportunities Abroad and International Student Mobility to China
title_full_unstemmed Language Learning Opportunities Abroad and International Student Mobility to China
title_short Language Learning Opportunities Abroad and International Student Mobility to China
title_sort language learning opportunities abroad and international student mobility to china
url https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241293536
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AT yuehuang languagelearningopportunitiesabroadandinternationalstudentmobilitytochina