International Student Mobility: research on institution choice and stay opportunities

Last registered on January 22, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
International Student Mobility: research on institution choice and stay opportunities
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015213
Initial registration date
January 17, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 22, 2025, 8:17 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Enzo Peeters
Affiliation
KU Leuven
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Kristof De Witte
PI Affiliation
KU Leuven
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-02-10
End date
2025-03-14
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Labor economics
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The newly established Flemish government intends to cap funding for non-EER
students at a maximum of two percent per higher education institution (HEI). This policy
starkly contrasts with the economic benefits that international students contribute to their
host country throughout their careers. This research project seeks to identify the factors influencing
institution choice and subsequent stay-rate opportunities for international students
in Flanders. We employ a Discrete-Choice Experiment (DCE) to capture stated preferences
and utilize several econometric models to analyze the data. The integration of DCE data with
demographic information will provide highly relevant insights for policymakers, enabling them
to tailor policies more effectively to the needs of international students.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
De Witte, Kristof and Enzo Peeters. 2025. "International Student Mobility: research on institution choice and stay opportunities." AEA RCT Registry. January 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15213-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2025-02-10
Intervention End Date
2025-03-14

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
In the Discrete-Choice Experiment (DCE) we are conducting, participants repeatedly choose between different hypothetical alternatives presented in two seperate DCEs: (i) a university and (ii) a country. The respondents have two options for the university and three for the country to choose from. The choices made by the participants are then used as the outcome variables in discrete choice regressions.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We deploy the Discrete-Choice Experiment (DCE) methodology. A DCE consist of presenting hypothetical alternatives to the respondent, which vary along a set of dimensions or attributes. Each attribute is defined along a range of levels. For instance, if you want to describe a university (the alternative) by it's tuition fee (attribute), you could use €1000, €5000 and €10000 (levels). By combining two hypothetical alternatives we obtain a so called choice-set, which can be presented to the respondent. By repeatedly presenting different choice-sets to the sample of respondents, we can form an understanding of their preferences based on the answers they give.
For each of our two decks ("university" and "country"), we develop 24 choice-sets, which are blocked into four blocks of six choice-sets each. We randomly assign each respondent to either one of the four blocks for both decks.
We administer a digital questionnaire to collect our data.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
In the beginning of the questionnaire, the respondent receives a hidden value between one and four, which is randomly assigned. Based on this hidden value, the respondent is assigned to one of the four blocks of questions.
Randomization Unit
We randomize at the participant level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
n/a
Sample size: planned number of observations
We aim to collect a minimum of 750 questionnaires. Each questionnaire presents us with 24 data points per deck, giving us a minimum of 18.000 observations for data analysis per deck.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
n/a
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Toetsing Privacy en Ethiek (PRET)
IRB Approval Date
2024-12-20
IRB Approval Number
G-2024-8740
Analysis Plan