Educational Outcomes of Urban and Rural Youth in the State of Michoacán

The municipality of Quiroga is the quintessential community of steady urbanization, nonetheless, of limited educational and occupational opportunity. Historically, Quiroga has been an area of significant U.S. migration, but today internal migration is a more pertinent outcome amongst the younger populations, specifically to pursue occupational or educational opportunities. This research focuses on education. The central question is how does the college experience differ between students from urban and less urbanized areas? Previous research suggests that youth from rural and less urbanized areas have a disparate college experience as it pertains to job obtainment, during and after college, and their permanent settlement in a city/urban center. This research seeks to identify the factors that compel college students, in other words, future skilled workers to permanently leave their communities of origin. The permanent exodus of young talent and educated people thus stymie the development of less urbanized communities. By interviewing students from Quiroga and students from Morelia, who attend college, I hope to build on previous literature of “brain drain,” explore the new patterns of internal migration, and the state of economic development in Michoacán