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Equilibria and efficiency in bilingual labour markets

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  • Armstrong, Alex

Abstract

We consider a labour market where two languages are commonly in use and each individual may make a costly investment to learn the language which is not his or her mother tongue. Language skills are productive in a human capital sense and can also be used to signal unobservable traits to employers. Due to the informational asymmetry between workers and employees, the equilibrium rate of bilingualism in the economy may exceed the socially efficient level. On the other hand, the spillovers associated with second language acquisition may imply there is not enough bilingualism relative to the social optimum. We consider the circumstances under which either the signalling or the network welfare effects dominate in equilibrium. Depending on the parameter values of the model, policies of either encouraging or discouraging the investment in language skills may be welfare enhancing.

Suggested Citation

  • Armstrong, Alex, 2015. "Equilibria and efficiency in bilingual labour markets," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 204-220.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:112:y:2015:i:c:p:204-220
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2015.01.011
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    Cited by:

    1. Brian Fabo & Miroslav Beblavý & Karolien Lenaerts, 2017. "The importance of foreign language skills in the labour markets of Central and Eastern Europe: assessment based on data from online job portals," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 44(3), pages 487-508, August.
    2. Alcalde-Unzu, Jorge & Moreno-Ternero, Juan D. & Weber, Shlomo, 2022. "The measurement of the value of a language," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    3. Dasgupta, Indraneel & Neogi, Ranajoy Guha, 2017. "Decolonization, Property Rights and Language Conflicts," IZA Discussion Papers 10998, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Fabo, B., 2017. "Towards an understanding of job matching using web data," Other publications TiSEM b8b877f2-ae6a-495f-b6cc-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    5. Hahm, Sabrina & Gazzola, Michele, 2022. "The Value of Foreign Language Skills in the German Labor Market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Language skill returns; Linguistic equilibria; Signalling; Language policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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