Investment in Studying Overseas and Graduate Employment: A Comparative Study of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan

In recent decades, we witness a steady increase of high school graduates based in the Greater China region (i.e. Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) choosing to study overseas. Unlike their previous cohorts heavily replying on state scholarships for studying overseas before the economic reform started in the late 1970s, more and more students who go for overseas studies are supported by their families or other non-state sources of funding. This paper sets out against the context briefly outlined above to examine how students from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan search for jobs and develop their careers after their graduation from universities based in the United Kingdom. With particular reference to the debates of Human Capital and Skills and Labour Market theories, this paper critically reflects how graduate employment of the graduates after overseas learning has been affected by the changing global labour markets. This paper also compares and contrasts their diverse experiences in graduate employment after graduation, with particular reference to the political economy perspective. Keywords: Overseas Studies, Human Capital, Earnings Premium, Social Investment, Graduate Employment Acknowledgement This study is part of the research project funded by the ESRC in the UK with particular reference to examine how Asian students’ job search and career development after graduating from the universities based in the UK.