Public First is today publishing the second of two pieces commissioned by the University of York around the impact of international students – this time looking at the impact on domestic living standards, and wages.

You can find the first piece of research, on the value of UK Higher Education as an export industry here.

We find that:

• GDP per capita is the wrong measure to use when looking at the impact of international students on living standards of those people who are already in the country. Instead, the question is the rise of living standards among the domestic population.
• On this measure, we find that international students raise living standards in every constituency in the country. On average,
  • Every UK resident person – man, woman, child; working, non-working and retired –  is £355 a year better off on average as a result of international students.
  • Every UK resident working adult – on a full time equivalent basis – is £466 a year better off on average as a result of international students.
• International students’ positive effects are spread across the country. In more than 100 constituencies, we find the wage benefit from international students to be worth more than two and a half week’s wages for the average earner.
• Labour currently hold 80 of the 100 seats that benefit most from increased wages, including 6 Cabinet Ministers. Many other Cabinet Ministers are in, or very close to, areas of significant wage gain from international students.

The full research paper can be seen here and the underlying data set and constituency breakdown can be seen here.