The Impact of Out-Migration On a Salvadorean Town

Abstract

A less-studied aspect of migration within Third World nations is the flow of migrants directly from small towns—those with populations on the order of 5,000 or less—to major urban centers and the repercussions of this outflow for small-town modernization. San Miguel de Mercedes, El Salvador, is one of many small towns in Central America that has experienced out-migration especially since the advent of rural bus traffic within the last few decades. Most migrants from the town are young and from the more prosperous households. Moreover, once settled in the city, they typically send cash and various goods (including TV sets) to their rural relatives and friends. Thus, while a “brain drain” of talented people has occurred, San Miguel de Mercedes and similar towns have benefited in various ways. Rural-born migrants trained in the city as teachers, social workers, agronomists, or heatlh professionals, moreover, often return to the rural areas to begin or continue their careers. It is concluded that spontaneous migrations, together with population planning, will be positive factors for rural modernization in the post-civil-war period.