Stefan Rehak, ‘Universities as Elevators: Education and Migration of Human Capital in Slovakia’

Since 1990 there has been a sharp rise in the Slovak higher education sector. The number of students has increased fourfold, the number of universities has doubled and new universities have been established in smaller towns. Despite this trend, Slovakia still faces emigration of the university-educated population which has negative implications for the country’s future economic development. This talk will address the key drivers of today’s ‘brain drain’ in the region, while analyzing the impact of individual characteristics, family background and the wider socio-economic environment on people’s decision to seek employment abroad.

Štefan Rehák is a professor and chair of the economics department at the University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia. He also serves as the current president of the Slovak Section of European Regional Science Association. His primary academic interests include analysis and evaluation of European Union cohesion, strategy and program development, policy design and regional economics.

Free parking is available after 5pm at the FedEx Global Education Center/McCauley parking deck and Beard surface lot (both on Pharmacy Lane).

This talk is made possible by a University Studies Grant from the International Visegrad Fund.