The AIR Professional File
Fall 2020, Article 151
Brain Drain in Maryland: Exploring Student Movement from High School to Postsecondary Education and the Workforce
Amber Bloomfield, Bess A. Rose, Alison M. Preston, and Angela K. Henneberger
https://doi.org/10.34315/apf1512020
Abstract
Brain drain—the movement of high school and college graduates out of state for employment—is a concern for state policymakers. This study focuses on brain drain of students who graduate from high school in Maryland. Using data from the Maryland
Longitudinal Data System and applying propensity score matching to control for differences between the groups, we evaluated the degree to which brain drain exists in Maryland, and which students are likely to contribute to brain drain.
Findings indicate that brain drain does exist in this state: students who graduated from a Maryland high school and who attended college out of state were less likely to return to Maryland to join the workforce compared to students who
remained in state for college. Additionally, higher-achieving students were more likely to be lost to brain drain
Keywords: brain drain, propensity score matching, student migration
Additional Information
Authors
Amber Bloomfield, University of Maryland, College Park
Bess A. Rose, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Alison M. Preston, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Angela K. Henneberger, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Copyright © Association for Institutional Research 2020