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What Holds Back the Second Generation?: The Intergenerational Transmission of Language Human Capital Among Immigrants

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  • Hoyt Bleakley
  • Aimee Chin

Abstract

In 2000 Census microdata, various outcomes of second-generation immigrants are related to their parents’ age at arrival in the United States, and in particular whether that age fell within the "critical period" of language acquisition. We interpret this as an effect of the parents’ English-language skills and construct an instrumental variable for parental English proficiency. Estimates of the effect of parents’ English-speaking proficiency using two-stage least squares yield significant, positive results for children’s English-speaking proficiency and preschool attendance, and significant, negative results for dropping out of high school and being below age-appropriate grade.

Suggested Citation

  • Hoyt Bleakley & Aimee Chin, 2008. "What Holds Back the Second Generation?: The Intergenerational Transmission of Language Human Capital Among Immigrants," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(2), pages 267-298.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:43:y:2008:i:2:p:267-298
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alejandro Portes & Lingxin Hao, 1998. "E Pluribus Unum: Bilingualism and Language Loss in the Second Generation," Macroeconomics 9805006, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Sandra E. Black & Paul J. Devereux & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2005. "Why the Apple Doesn't Fall Far: Understanding Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 437-449, March.
    3. Jennifer Glick & Michael White, 2003. "academic trajectories of immigrant youths: Analysis within and across cohorts," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 40(4), pages 759-783, November.
    4. Alejandro Portes & Lingxin Hao, 1998. "E Pluribus Unum: Bilingualism and Language Loss in the Second Generation," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_229, Levy Economics Institute.
    5. Robert Summers & Alan Heston, 1988. "A New Set Of International Comparisons Of Real Product And Price Levels Estimates For 130 Countries, 1950–1985," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 34(1), pages 1-25, March.
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