Education ties and investments abroad. Empirical evidence from the US and UK

This paper analyses the impact of university student ties on the FDI of the US and UK into 167 countries during the period 1999-2010. University ties are measured by international students flows and alumni associations worldwide. Studies on transnational social networks suggest that effects should be higher on the FDI directed to the developing economies. The paper’s main findings are that international student flows and alumni associations abroad exert a positive influence on the FDI from the US and UK into the students’ home countries. More specifically, their influence is strong and significant in the group of developing countries. Results, similar for the US and UK, are robust to different regressors and econometric specifications.