Examining the economic impact of foreign students in public Universities on Singapore economy in 2010 and foreign students' pre-trip decision making factors

• Main Authors: Lim, Kelly Kaili, Lu, Feifei, Adamas Belva Syah Devara
• Other Authors: Li Zhi-Feng, Michael
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Economic development::Singapore
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/43566
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This paper aims to provide insights into the growing yet under-studied education tourism segment in Singapore. The objective of this paper is two-fold: to quantify the economic impact of the foreign students‟ expenditure in Singapore and to analyze the various pre-trip decision making factors of foreign students in choosing an education destination. The economic impact analysis was pursued through the utilization of the Input-Output model (I-O), processing data from structured questionnaires capturing foreign students‟ expenditures in the three public universities in Singapore. We ran in total of 40 I-O models to provide more granular analyses of the different segments of the foreign student market along the dimensions of continental origin, university origin, industrial sectors, direct output, indirect output, induced output, value added and employment impact. We estimate that the total foreign student market in Singapore contributed SGD 1.53 billion in 2010 to the Singapore economy, with the relevant breakdown mentioned earlier to be explained in greater detail in the report. The decision factor analysis was performed through the use of factor analysis and statistical regression analysis. Foreign students‟ pre-trip perceptions about Singapore were captured and were analyzed against pre-trip attitude levels towards choosing Singapore as an education destination. The result suggested that Personal Development component which comprises of good ranking, good teaching, good facilities and good career, to be the most important component in a foreign student‟s pre-trip decision making.