La geografia dei flussi centro-periferia degli studenti universitari

This paper analyses the migration flows of university students in Italy, with a focus on movement from central to peripheral areas’ universities. Student mobility substantially impacts socioeconomic development, underscoring the role of higher education institutions in fostering local development trajectories. Using data from the Italian Ministry of Education, covering academic years from 2010/11 to 2021/22, we classify universities as central or peripheral based on demographic thresholds and analyse the corresponding student flows. Our findings highlight the increasing importance of student migration towards peripheral universities, which has the potential to enhance local development in host regions and alleviate agglomeration diseconomies in major metropolitan and urban areas.