Level of education in assessing the tendency and propensity to migrate among the population of Kazakhstan

Abstract

This article investigates the determinants of the decision to migrate and the role of education. As the literature suggests that more educated workers tend to migrate over a greater distance, we distinguish between migration from Kazakhstan within the CIS and wider international migration. Our goal is to identify the driving forces behind any brain drain.

We use regional data to construct panel estimations of propensities to migrate with national and regional education data and regional GDP per capita as determinants. We estimate separate regressions for CIS migration and migration to other countries for the periods 2009-2014 and 2015-2019.

For the period 2009-2014, we find that migration within the CIS responds strongly to the economic situation at home while international migration is unaffected by the economy. Since 2015 both kinds of migration have become largely decoupled from the economy, while both follow an increasing trend. In terms of their educational achievement, the cohorts of international and CIS migrants have become indistinguishable.