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The impact of host language proficiency on employment outcomes among immigrants in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Santiago Budría

    (Universidad Nebrija
    Universidad Pontificia Comillas
    Universidad Pontificia Comillas
    IZA)

  • Alberto Colino

    (Universidad Pontificia Comillas)

  • Carlos Martínez de Ibarreta

    (Universidad Pontificia Comillas)

Abstract

This paper presents estimates of the impact of host language proficiency on the probability of immigrants having an employment. The article uses data from the Spanish National Immigrant Survey and relies on two complementary econometric approaches, a 2SLS instrumental variable model and a bivariate probit model. Host language proficiency is instrumented using Bleakley and Chin (Rev Econ Stat 86:481–496, 2004) strategy, which exploits the fact that younger children learn languages more easily than older ones. Average treatment effects indicate that host language proficiency raises the probability of having a job by about 15 and 22 percentage points among men and women respectively. However, local effects can be more than twice as large.

Suggested Citation

  • Santiago Budría & Alberto Colino & Carlos Martínez de Ibarreta, 2019. "The impact of host language proficiency on employment outcomes among immigrants in Spain," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 46(4), pages 625-652, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:empiri:v:46:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s10663-018-9414-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10663-018-9414-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hahm, Sabrina & Gazzola, Michele, 2022. "The Value of Foreign Language Skills in the German Labor Market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Budría, Santiago & Martínez-de-Ibarreta, Carlos, 2021. "Education and skill mismatches among immigrants: The impact of host language proficiency," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Kentaro Hatsumi, 2023. "Second‐language acquisition behavior and hegemonic language," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 19(1), pages 3-20, March.
    4. Michele Gazzola & Daniele Mazzacani, 2019. "Foreign language skills and employment status of European natives: evidence from Germany, Italy and Spain," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 46(4), pages 713-740, November.
    5. Zheng, Yeqiu & Gu, Yan & Backus, Albert & van Soest, Arthur, 2023. "The value of host-country language: The effect of Dutch language proficiency on immigrants’ income, savings and financial wealth in the Netherlands," OSF Preprints qnfuv, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration; Host language proficiency; Instrumental variables; Biprobit;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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