Erasmus Student Mobility as a Gateway to the International Labour Market?

Abstract

One of the main rationales of the Erasmus programme, initiated in 1987, is the promotion of the European labour market. Nevertheless, empirical evidence on the links between student mobility, international labour mobility and employability remains relatively limited. In this chapter, I investigate how participation in an international exchange programme during students’ higher education degree might have an impact on their future aspirations to live or work in an international context, based on an online survey conducted in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom (n = 10,831). The empirical analysis shows that there is little empirical evidence for a causal link between participation in the Erasmus programme and increased aspirations towards the international labour market in students’ future career. The results indicate that those who participate in the Erasmus programme are already more inclined towards future geographical mobility and international jobs before participating.