Cities’ attraction and retention of graduates: a more-than-economic approach

In skilled migration research, the role of the study location in graduates’ residential behaviour remains unclear. This paper addresses this lacuna by examining the attractiveness and retention of higher education cities for local attendants in the period after study, using Belgium as an empirical case study. Drawing on a unique linkage of census and register data for 1991–2010, logistic and Cox regressions illustrate the relative success of smaller cities once individual, familial and contextual factors are considered. Location-specific characteristics beyond the economic are found to shape skilled migration towards the higher education localities, particularly in the short term.