This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

The English language fluency and occupational success of ethnic minority immigrant men living in English metropolitan areas

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Michael A. Shields () (Public Sector Economics Research Centre, Department of Economics, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK)
Stephen Wheatley Price () (Public Sector Economics Research Centre, Department of Economics, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper examines two crucial aspects of the assimilation experience of ethnic minority immigrants in the United Kingdom. It explores the determinants of their English language (speaking) fluency and the key role such skills play in their occupational success. Our sample is derived from the Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities undertaken in 1994. Uniquely this data contains an interviewer-assessed measure of English language fluency. Importantly, we also attempt to control for possible endogeneity bias in the estimates of the effect of language fluency on occupational success. We find that fluency is associated with significantly higher mean hourly occupational wages.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://link.springer.de/link/service/journals/00148/papers/2015001/20150137.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Article provided by Springer in its journal Journal of Population Economics.

Volume (Year): 15 (2002)
Issue (Month): 1 ()
Pages: 137-160
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:15:y:2002:i:1:p:137-160

Note: Received: 26 November 1999/Accepted: 03 August 2000 received from participants at the Centre for Economic Policy Research conference "Marginal Labour Markets in Metropolitan Areas" held in Dublin between 10-12 October 1999 where an earlier version of this paper was presented. In addition Barry R. Chiswick and three anonymous referees have made valuable suggestions which have greatly improved the final version of this paper. The Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities (deposited by the Policy Studies Institute) and the Quarterly Labour Force Survey of the United Kingdom (Crown Copyright; deposited by the Office for National Statistics) were used with permission. The authors are grateful to the Data Archive at the University of Essex for supplying the data and documentation. Responsible editor: Alan Barrett.-->
Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://link.springer.de/link/service/journals/00148/index.htm

Order Information:
Web: http://link.springer.de/orders.htm

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F Baum).

Related research
Keywords: Language; occupational success; immigrants and ethnic minorities;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities and Races; Non-labor Discrimination
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Blackaby, David H, et al, 1997. "A Picture of Male and Female Unemployment among Britain's Ethnic Minorities," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 44(2), pages 182-97, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Dustmann, Christian, 1994. "Speaking Fluency, Writing Fluency and Earnings of Migrants," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 133-56.
    Other versions:
  3. Chiswick, Barry R & Miller, Paul W, 1995. "The Endogeneity between Language and Earnings: International Analyses," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(2), pages 246-88, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Shields, Michael A & Price, Stephen Wheatley, 1999. "Ethnic Differences in British Employer-Funded on the Off-the-Job Training," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 6(7), pages 421-29, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Colm Harmon & Ian Walker, 1996. "The marginal and average returns to schooling," IFS Working Papers W96/11, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    Other versions:
  6. Harper, Barry & Haq, Mohammad, 1997. "Occupational Attainment of Men in Britain," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 49(4), pages 638-50, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Dustmann, Christian, 1996. "Temporary Migration, Human Capital, and Language Fluency of Migrants," CEPR Discussion Papers 1376, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. Stewart, Mark B, 1983. "Racial Discrimination and Occupational Attainment in Britain," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 93(371), pages 521-41, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Harmon, Colm & Walker, Ian, 1995. "Estimates of the Economic Return to Schooling for the United Kingdom," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1278-86, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Harmon, Colm & Walker, Ian, 1999. "The marginal and average returns to schooling in the UK," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(4-6), pages 879-887, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Nickell, Stephen, 1982. "The Determinants of Occupational Success in Britain," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(1), pages 43-53, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Dustmann, Christian & van Soest, Arthur, 1998. "Language and the Earnings of Immigrants," CEPR Discussion Papers 2012, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Galor, Oded & Stark, Oded, 1990. "Migrants' Savings, the Probability of Return Migration and Migrants' Performance," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 31(2), pages 463-67, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Shields, Michael A & Price, Stephen Wheatley, 1998. "The Earnings of Male Immigrants in England: Evidence from the Quarterly LFS," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 30(9), pages 1157-68, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Borjas, George J, 1987. "Self-Selection and the Earnings of Immigrants," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(4), pages 531-53, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  16. Dustmann, C. & Soest, A. van, 1998. "Language fluency and earnings : estimation with misclassified language indicators," Discussion Paper 120, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. James Levinsohn, 2004. "Globalization and the Returns to Speaking English in South Africa," NBER Working Papers 10985, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Yann Algan & Christian Dustmann & Albrecht Glitz & Alan Manning, 2009. "The Economic Situation of First- and Second-Generation Immigrants in France, Germany, and the UK," CReAM Discussion Paper Series 0922, Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), Department of Economics, University College London. [Downloadable!]
  3. Frijters, Paul & Shields, Michael A. & Wheatley Price, Stephen, 2003. "Immigrant Job Search in the UK: Evidence from Panel Data," IZA Discussion Papers 902, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Chiswick, Barry R. & Miller, Paul W., 2004. "Linguistic Distance: A Quantitative Measure of the Distance Between English and Other Languages," IZA Discussion Papers 1246, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  5. Timothy J. Hatton & Stephen Wheatley Price, 1999. "Migration, Migrants and Policy in the United Kingdom," IZA Discussion Papers 81, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Alisher Aldashev & Johannes Gernandt & Stephan L. Thomsen, 2007. "Language Usage, Participation, Employment and Earnings," FEMM Working Papers 07018, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Faculty of Economics and Management. [Downloadable!]
  7. Collier, William & Vickerman, Roger, 2002. "Cross-border activity in the Kent - Nord-Pas de Calais - Belgium Euroregion: some comparative evidence on the location and recruitment decisions of internationally mobile firms," ERSA conference papers ersa02p082, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  8. Zafar Mueen Nasir, 2005. "An Analysis of Occupational Choice in Pakistan: A Multinomial Approach," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 44(1), pages 57-79. [Downloadable!]
  9. Thomsen, Stephan L. & Gernandt, Johannes & Aldashev, Alisher, 2008. "Language Usage, Participation, Employment and Earnings: Evidence for Foreigners in West Germany with Multiple Sources of Selection," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-090, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Nekby, Lena & Özcan, Gülay, 2007. "Do Domestic Educations Even Out the Playing Field? Ethnic Labor Market Gaps in Sweden," SULCIS Working Papers 2007:3, Stockholm University Linnaeus Center for Integration Studies - SULCIS. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Barry R. Chiswick, 2000. "A Model of Immigrant Language Acquisition: Application to Male Immigrants in Canada," University of Chicago - George G. Stigler Center for Study of Economy and State 149, Chicago - Center for Study of Economy and State. [Downloadable!]
  12. Battu, Harminder & Sloane, Peter J., 2002. "Overeducation and Ethnic Minorities in Britain," IZA Discussion Papers 650, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? You can use convenient plug-ins to search directly IDEAS from your browser.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-8.


This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.