International students will offer a big boost to the US economy this back-to-school season

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Barnet Sherman, Boston University

(THE CONVERSATION) Of the millions of young adults heading off to college this fall, many will be international students. If trends continue, about 1 million students from around the world will come to the U.S. to pursue higher education this year.

These young scholars make a big economic impact. Altogether, they pump more than US$40 billion into the U.S. economy and support over 368,000 jobs. That’s not just paying professors and buying textbooks – it includes everything from renting apartments to late-night DoorDash and Grubhub deliveries. And it’s near a record high.

In fact, higher education is the 10th-leading export of the United States, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis – except the export is really an import, of students from around the world.

Think of it this way: If you went to Paris to see the Olympics this year, the Olympics was the export that brought you – the tourist, or, in economic terms, the import – to France. In the complex world of economic balance of trade accounting, international students are the tourists visiting U.S. campuses.

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