Limiting international economics, business students will cost Dutch economy millions

International economics and business students bring more to the Dutch economy than they cost. Limiting their number will cost the economy millions, De Telegraaf reports from a study by SEO Economic Research.

According to the study, international graduates who stay in the Netherlands generate additional tax and premium revenues. These are greater than the costs of their use of healthcare, social security, grants, and student finance.

Completely halting the intake of international students in Economics and Business could cost the treasury between 7.8 and 67.4 million euros per year. Even a less radical scenario will be pricey, the researchers said. For example, a 20 percent decrease in these students could cost the Dutch economy between 1.56 and 13.48 million euros. If 20 percent fewer international master’s students enroll, the total costs will be between 19.2 and 86.8 million euros.

About a third of all economics and business students in Dutch universities are from abroad. Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf is working on a bill, the Internationalization in Balance Act, to limit the influx of international students. Universities are also taking measures. And these interventions are already having an effect - the number of international students decreased slightly this year for the first time in years.

In the SEO study, dozens of companies raised concerns about the measures Dutch universities are taking against internationalization. International students are crucial for their survival, they said. One of those companies is ASML, which has already threatened to invest outside the Netherlands if it can’t recruit international talent here.

“This concerns IT and technology companies, but also accountants and consultancy companies,” researcher Marc Salomon told the newspaper. “They say they desperately need foreign students to keep the economy going in the current tight labor market. Some companies are considering further growth outside the Netherlands.”

The SEO researchers also concluded that fewer international students will have little effect on home prices in the Netherlands. The shortages and waiting lists for students are more limited than those for social housing, for example. Moreover, students have different housing needs than families, for example.

Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN special rapporteur on adequate housing, also recently reported that decades of government policy are behind the Dutch housing shortage, not international students, expats, migrant workers, and refugees.