Север и рынок: формирование экономического порядка (Mar 2023)

MIGRATION FLOWS OF SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY GRADUATES IN THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC REGIONS: VOLUME, VECTORS, AND PROPORTIONALITY ASSESSMENT

  • Irina S. Stepus,
  • Anna V. Simakova,
  • Valery A. Gurtov,
  • Evgeniya A. Khoteeva

DOI
https://doi.org/10.37614/2220-802X.1.2023.79.005
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 26, no. 1
pp. 80 – 94

Abstract

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As the Russian Arctic regions have geopolitical importance, it is vital to study their social and human capital regeneration processes, including the role and influence of school graduates’ educational migration from the Arctic and university graduates’ post-educational migration into the Arctic. The study’s scientific novelty lies in presenting a comprehensive assessment of school graduates’ outgoing flows from the Arctic regions and university graduates’ incoming flows from other areas using a single methodology across the country’s nine Arctic regions. Through statistical analysis and information comparison, it was revealed that most school graduates from the Arctic pursue higher education outside of this region, which is largely due to the restructuring of the higher education system, including the reduction of the number of branch campuses in the Arctic. The analysis of post-educational migration showed that the flow of university graduates coming to work in the Arctic from other regions slightly exceeds the outflow of graduates from Arctic universities. Still, this trend is not uniform across all Arctic regions. School graduates’ educational migration is not balanced as the outflow of high-school graduates from the Arctic regions is not fully compensated for by young professionals coming to the Arctic after graduation. This uncompensated educational migration poses significant risks such as a loss of qualified workers and a decline in the population of reproductive age, which may ultimately accelerate the depopulation process of this strategically important macro-region. As measures to address this issue, the authors propose creating a favorable environment for the younger generation’s development and holding events aimed at motivating young people to live, study, and work in the Russian Arctic. A relevant analytical base in the field of youth migration is necessary for regulating migration processes in the Arctic regions.

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