The attraction of universities in economically depressed regions: the case of the University of Évora

As it is well known, universities constitute sources of important multiplier effects on the economic activity of the regions where they are located. Plainly, in the case of economically depressed regions, the importance of universities becomes higher. This is certainly the case with the University of Évora because being located in the Alentejo, one of the poorest regions at the European Union level, it has been a major contributor in the attraction of economic activity.
Besides the direct effect on the economic activity of the Alentejo, the University of Évora also has been exerting demographic effects, not only by allowing people to become residents on the region but also by attracting students which normally become residents during the period of time required to conclude their academic degrees.
The paper explores this last effect by the analysis of how and why the University of Évora is chosen by students coming from all over the country. This analysis, which is done through the use of discrete choice models, also indicates which are the decisive factors for the attraction exerted, in general, by the University of Évora and, in particular, by its degree courses on the candidate students.