The Dutch government’s approach to limiting international student numbers could lose billions from the Netherlands’ GDP, new research has found.
When you combine a rampant housing shortage, soaring international student numbers, and a push to strengthen Dutch-language education, you get all the key arguments in favour of the Dutch government’s Internationalisation in Balance bill.
Aimed at limiting the number of international students in the Netherlands, this controversial bill has attracted its fair share of criticism over the past year.
However, new research from SEO Economisch Onderzoek (SEO), commissioned by several major Dutch universities, has finally crunched the numbers and put a price on the impact of limiting foreign students.
Turns out, “more internationals” is a good thing
In their report, SEO found that the total income generated by international students far outweighed any expenditure they incurred on the Dutch economy.
Non-EEA students, in particular, brought in the big bucks. In 2019 alone, a single non-EEA student would contribute between €69,000 and €96,000, depending on whether they opted for a higher professional education or a university education.
What are non-EEA students? Non-EEA students are students who come from countries outside of the European Economic Area. They don’t qualify for reduced university fees, so often have to pay large amounts to study in many European countries.
So what about the argument that fewer students means fewer people fighting for a place in the Dutch housing market? Well, the report points out that these benefits are “relatively small.”
In addition to this, of the EEA and non-EEA students who stuck around in the Netherlands after their studies, most of them currently “generate substantial tax and contribution revenues”.
The report also touched on concerns that are harder to quantify. In the long run, admitting fewer international students could result in declining research quality, negative effects on the competitiveness of Dutch companies, and losing out on global talent.
Universities aren’t having it
The Economics and Business faculties of universities in Amsterdam (UVA and VU), Groningen, Leiden, Rotterdam (RSM and ESE), Tilburg, and Utrecht all helped commission SEO’s research.
Their biggest concern? International students aren’t just filling lecture halls; they’re big spenders.
And with lower funds, fewer foreign students, and more Dutch language requirements, universities expect their staff numbers to decline, as well. Of those that remain, universities may need to shell out on “intensive and expensive Dutch language training”.
Erasmus University chair Annelien Bredenoord also sounded the alarm on an NPO1 broadcast, calling the government’s stance a “fallacy”.
“They think they can control which students come and which don’t,” she said. “We’re already seeing a huge number of international students dropping out. We really have to be careful that this doesn’t lead to a brain drain.”
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