Does graduate education abroad matter? Evidence from Burkina Faso

This paper addresses international student migration, return migration and labor market entry by examining the effects of graduate educational migration on employment, type of employment, wage and wait time to obtain employment. Using primary data collected in 2021 on 1774 burkinabe graduates, including non-migrants and migrants (returnees and non-returnees), the results are mixed. Migration for studies does not provide better access to employment for returnees because they take longer to get a job despite having degrees from schools abroad and earning more. Controlling for selection bias, Ph.D. graduates take longer to find jobs than do Master's graduates. Arbitrating between unemployment and a lower-skilled job, the findings highlight that the returnees prefer unemployment. Assignment and queuing theories are supported for returnees.