“Brain drain” might be one of Mississippi’s biggest threats. What is it, what is it doing, and how can the state reverse it?
Mississippi boasts a college scene incomparable to that of many other states. Schools like the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and Mississippi State University (Mississippi State) are infamous nationwide for intense rivalries over seasonal football, parties that sometimes leave both a mental and physical impression, and strangely possessive attitudes to different shades of red. Oxford and Starkville are generally accepted as the epitome of “college towns” with bars and tailgates prepared to help keep students inebriated just enough to forget why they’re getting a degree in the first place. Many students pay thousands of dollars to join Greek houses and make life-long connections that will decide their reputation for them for at least the next four years. This all sounds so exciting and surely unforgettable—so why do so many graduates leave?
Ole Miss and Mississippi State are actually good schools with great reviews for their programs surrounding paths like law, agriculture, engineering, and business. However, most who graduate from these colleges and others in Mississippi don’t seem interested in staying. According to a 2022 report by the state Auditor’s Office, only around half of Mississippi college graduates remain in Mississippi soon after receiving their degrees and certifications. While many southern states are experiencing a massive influx of young, educated Americans, Mississippi is suffering the opposite—our students and professionals are taking part in an exodus from the state. What does this mean for our future?
”Brain drain”, as this phenomenon is known, may generally be attributed to two key factors: a region does not offer the incentives to entice natives to stay, nor does it feature opportunities that attract migrants to come. A study by the United States Congress’s Joint Economic Committee found that on both a national and sub-national level, losing skilled workers and owners of degrees to other states or even countries is not just disappointing to families but poses a risk to the integrity and stability of the economy and workforce as a whole. Reasons that Mississippi, and other regions for that matter, may not be appealing for future generations vary greatly. Perhaps some are looking for communities in bigger cities and aren’t personally attracted to the state’s vast forests and fields, or potentially are dissatisfied with what the Bureau of Labor reports to be the lowest hourly earnings in the entire country. Our job market is not diverse and the state lacks significantly in specialized industries. The state ranks as one of the worst for business and entrepreneurship, and though our public education is slowly improving, it is not where it needs to be.
Mississippi is generally unattractive and potentially even dangerous for those belonging to minority groups and communities; though legislation to protect the rights of marginalized groups sometimes succeeds, the fight to both get it passed and preserve it is often not worth the trouble. LGBTQIA+ individuals, racial minorities, and other groups often face ostracism and prejudice in Mississippian society. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that several hate groups still call Mississippi home.
In short, Mississippi suffers from both economic and cultural burdens infused with tradition and apprehensive rhetoric causing the state to neglect the uninviting stains that not only cause our own residents to flee but for residents of other states to look on with disapproval. If action is not taken, Mississippi’s brain drain may cause issues on an irreversible scale. Luckily, our position is not yet solidified and there remains plenty that the state can do—and is trying to do—to move Mississippi into the future, though our leaders often disagree on solutions.
The State Auditor’s Office argues that certain degrees are more useful than others, and suggests that taxpayer dollars and state funding go towards paths rooted in science, technology, and mathematics as opposed to degrees centered on the arts, philosophy, or social sciences. There’s reason to believe, though, that the factors causing intelligent and gifted scientists and engineers to leave Mississippi may extend across more than just the cost of tuition, and the report potentially could simply be intending to appeal to traditionally extremist talking points regarding the “usefulness” of certain majors over others, seemingly making repetitive note of things like “gender studies” as opposed to “high-value” degrees.
Take a look at what causes our students and residents to actually leave the state: a search for more opportunities, better living conditions, higher salaries, and advanced technology and healthcare—all of which are problems Mississippi continues to fall behind in. This leads many to believe that the origin of brain drain may not be liberal arts but something more systemic. Regions that invest heavily in education, healthcare, technology, and quality of life to begin with are less likely to lose citizens to other regions and will likely gain more in the process. If the state were to allocate its resources towards addressing the difficulties that make life here complicated and encouraged innovation and expression in every industry and art form, perhaps we could turn our brain drain into brain gain (clever wording still a work in progress).
Many will continue to attend our state schools for bar crawls and date parties, but the issue remains that most will not stay. Decisive and bold action is necessary to ensure our future, and to provide residents with the opportunities and resources to create lasting success. The state as a whole would benefit from more innovation and creativity. So, the question is: do our leaders have what it takes to implement the actions that will give us a reason to stay, or will they continue to circle back to political talking points that win them elections but convinced us to leave? Will they move forward into the future—or keep trying to impress the past?