More than one-third of the over one million students throughout the world who receive all or part of their education in another country receive it in the United States. Even nations notoriously critical of the United States send their students to institutions here.
Education is one of the few remaining U.S. export industries on an upward trend.
Viewed as a service export, the economic impact of education purchased by students from abroad is sizable. Foreign students using external funds deposited in U.S. banks increase the domestic money supply and as a result, funds used by international students raise U.S. service exports in the balance of payments context. Additionally, deposits by international students in banks increase the pool of loanable funds within a state, presumably making credit easier and less costly for residents to obtain. The direct impact of a dollar spent by a foreign student is represented by a business s increase in sales. An indirect impact is represented by the increased sales experienced by other businesses in the region resulting from the initial dollar spent.