Migration Behaviors and Educational Attainment of Metro and Non-Metro Youth☆

While research has consistently demonstrated a positive relationship between migration from rural areas and educational attainment, it is unclear whether migration is the driver of educational attainment or merely a mediator. The rural brain drain perspective suggests that young people leave rural areas if they have greater academic potential than their peers. A migration gain perspective implies that people, regardless of prior achievements, may move to invest in human capital, thereby gaining more education than those who do not move. This article uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 97 to test these competing predictions with multilevel/mixed-effects models. Consistent with previous research, the study found that youth attained the least education if they stayed in non-metro areas. By contrast, they gained more education if they moved not just from but also to non-metro areas, consistent with the migration gain hypothesis. Academic performance alone did not explain the association between education and migration, contradicting the rural brain drain theory. However, academic performance and college enrollment, which are also influenced by available educational opportunities, together explain the association between migration and education significantly, suggesting that the educational outcomes of migrants are influenced by a combination of individual and institutional characteristics.

Automated summary

This article examines the relationship between migration and educational attainment, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 97 and employing multilevel/mixed-effects models. The findings suggest that young people who move, particularly to non-metro areas, tend to have higher educational attainment compared to those who stay in non-metro areas. The association between education and migration is not solely explained by academic performance, but by a combination of individual and institutional factors.