The Influence of Economic Indicators of the Country on Youth International Migration: a Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Human capital represented by young people is becoming an important potential for the country’s development . To reduce young people’s migration flows , it is necessary to know what influences their decision to leave the country . The purpose of this work is to study economic factors of youth migration globally through the literature review and to conduct a comparative analysis of economic indicators between the member-states of the Eurasian Economic Community. The methodology is based on the most similar and the most diverse systems , which are widely used in comparative studies . Accordingly , a small number of cases were selected based on similar models used . An analysis of similarities and identified differences between countries was carried out . The study included three stages : literature review , indicators selection and comparative analysis . Comparative analysis was based on four indicators , such as public spending on R&D, the total number of emigrants , the share of remittances in GDP and the unemployment rate . The data was collected from open sources . According to the literature review , investment in R&D was found to have a strong influence on the decision of emigrants , especially young people , to migrate . The analysis showed strong similarities between Armenia , Kyrgyzstan and Belarus regarding unemployment and educational indicators . The results for Russia and Kazakhstan confirmed the assumption of utility theory , according to which young people usually leave for the sake of better educational programs . The results of this study can be used to improve and adjust the youth and migration state policy , which may reduce the migration of young people abroad .