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Despite programmes to accelerate training in science in Mexico since the 1970s, the indigenous science base is thin. Mexican PhD graduates were counted in North American universities and their disciplines identified. The number of doctorate recipients currently recognised by the Mexican government as national researchers was counted. The results imply that the Mexican government's efforts to strengthen scientific research are unfocussed, being based on the erratic selection of institutions and disciplines of study. Brain drain is assumed, which may be associated with the lack of ability of Mexican institutions to absorb and use fully trained people.

<p>En este artículo, la autora analiza los factores tanto favorables como adversos que intervienen en los procesos de urbanización y en los problemas de sustentabilidad de la población mundial en general y de la zona conurbada de la ciudad de México en particular.</p>

Mexican public funds support scholarship grants -about 42% to the United States -at the rate of several million dollars a year. The benefits to Mexico remain largely unexamined, as there is little follow-up. Unpublished figures suggest that some Mexican students may remain in the United States after graduation. Support of foreign-study scholarships is a well-established and popular policy. While it could be matched with a more proactive policy of management of scientific and professional resources, including raising the academic standards of graduate programs at Mexican universities, the benefits of graduate study abroad far outweigh simple costbenefit considerations. However, the official scholarship policies could be revised to provide a sharper focus on the current needs of the Mexican economy. In particular, repayment of the scholarship grant should no longer be required when a returning scholar is gainfully employed in industry.