International Trade in Higher Education Services in the Asia Pacific Region: Trends and Issues

The expansion of trade and investment in the global economy since the 1980s has been accompanied by an associated growth in the international trade in education services, particularly higher education. In this paper we provide a detailed analysis of the expansion of higher educational mobility, measured by the burgeoning numbers of tertiary students going abroad to study. In particular, this paper investigates the increasing mobility of students from the Asia Pacific region undertaking study in Western Europe, North America and Australia. The paper argues that increasing international trade in education services in the Asia Pacific region reflects the strategic importance of these services to develop and maintain the long-term economic and social viability of these nations. Increasingly governments throughout the world now recognize the crucial role of education in fostering economic growth (especially in new knowledge-based sectors), personal and social development, as well as reducing inequality. Nations with well-established and prestigious higher education systems such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia have been the main beneficiaries of this growing trade in education services. These countries have been at the forefront of educational exports as they have led aggressive marketing campaigns to recruit new students as well as develop new methods of higher education provision and delivery. Further, this paper explores the positive and negative effects of student mobility, and the linkages between the internationalization of higher education and the professions. Finally, this study makes some suggestions for further research.