A new study conducted by the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA), together with the Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes (AMEUP, Croatia), the Erasmus+ National Agency for Education and Training (ANE+EF, Portugal), Fondacija Tempus (Serbia), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, Germany), and Tempus Public Foundation (TPF, Hungary), provides robust evidence that Erasmus+ student mobility produces clear and measurable economic benefits.

From methodological scoping to empirical modelling

The study builds on a preparatory report, which reviewed commonly used methodologies for assessing the economic impact of international student mobility, identified conceptual and data-related limitations in existing approaches, and proposed a structured analytical framework tailored specifically to Erasmus+ credit mobility.

The present study operationalises that framework through an empirical application to Erasmus+ KA131 mobilities funded under the 2022 call¹ and implemented in five selected countries: Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, and Serbia.

Methodological approach

The analytical model evaluates short-term economic effects across four main expenditure blocks:

1. Personal living and study expenses of incoming and outgoing students, (accommodation, food, local transport, communication, health, leisure, and study materials), based on EUROSTUDENT VIII data
2. Relocation costs, including travel to and from the host country
3. Visitor spending, covering tourism expenditure by family and friends
4. Programme-related transfers, including Organisational Support to higher education institutions and National Agency management fees for Erasmus+.

To reflect the reciprocal nature of Erasmus+ mobility – where countries simultaneously host incoming students and send domestic students abroad – the framework distinguishes between benefits and costs for each national economy.

A central feature is the use of counterfactual analysis, ensuring that only spending that genuinely changes domestic economic activity—rather than expenditure that would have occurred in a no-mobility scenario—is counted as an economic effect.

Key findings

The study demonstrates that—although Erasmus+ is not designed as an economic policy instrument—KA131 student mobility generates net economic gains in all five analysed countries.

Despite significant differences in size, mobility volumes, economic structures, and cost-of-living levels, each country records positive net effects in terms of:

1. Domestic demand, the total spending generated within a country’s economy as a result of mobility-related expenditure (e.g. student living costs, visitor spending, programme transfers)
2. Output, the overall value of goods and services produced in the economy in response to that spending, including direct, indirect and induced effects
3. Gross value added (GVA), the net contribution to the economy after subtracting intermediate inputs; essentially the value created by economic activity and a core component of GDP.
4. Employment, the number of jobs supported or sustained by the economic activity generated through mobility-related spending.
5. Fiscal revenues, public income generated through taxes and social contributions linked to the additional economic activity (e.g. VAT, income tax, corporate tax).

In every case examined, economic benefits outweigh associated costs.

Incoming students, visitor spending, programme transfers and mobility-related institutional activity stimulate domestic demand and employment. While higher-cost countries generate larger direct inflows, lower-cost economies benefit from comparatively stronger multiplier effects. Across all systems, indirect and induced effects exceed direct effects, highlighting the broad supply-chain and household-income linkages activated by mobility.

Complementary analysis also indicates that mobility flows align—partially but meaningfully—with national economic priorities. Significant shares of students in business, administration and law support export competitiveness and EU market integration, while mobilities in engineering, ICT, natural sciences and health contribute to digital transition, green growth and industrial modernisation. Traineeships further strengthen labour-market linkages, and emerging blended mobility formats support digital skills development.

Looking ahead

These economic effects complement primary effects of Erasmus+ linked to educational quality, personal and professional development of mobile students, and other multiple positive effects at individual, institutional, and system level documented in other studies.

If extended to additional programme calls, other mobility actions (including staff mobility and international credit mobility), and all 33 Erasmus+ programme countries, the aggregate economic contribution would be substantially larger.

Together, the initial scoping work and this empirical application provide a foundation for more systematic monitoring of the economic impact of Erasmus+ mobility. Follow-up research covering subsequent calls and mobility formats will be essential to validate trends and build a comprehensive picture of the programme’s short- and long-term economic and human-capital impact.

¹Mobility of higher education students and staff supported by internal policy funds, excluding mobilities funded under the international opening of KA131.