Are Better Educated Migrants Returning? Evidence from Multi-Dimensional Education Data

This study examines the relationship between migrants' education and their intentions to return. Previous research has presented mixed evidence on the association between the level of education and return migration. This study takes a multidimensional approach by analysing, aside from the level of education, the type and country of education and over-education as predictors of intentions to return based on a unique survey of Estonian migrants in Finland. The results indicate that the level of education is not related to the tendency to return. The most important education variable that shapes return migration is over-education ―migrants who work below their training express higher intentions to return back home. We also find some evidence that education obtained in the host country improves the socialisation prospects later on.