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The Economic Returns to Multiple Language Usage in Western Europe

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Author Info
Williams, Donald R. (Kent State University (USA) and CEPS/INSTEAD (Luxembourg))

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Abstract

To what extent are there economic returns to learning a second or third language? Do the benefits differ according to country? This paper examines the return to multi-lingualism in the workplace. In particular, we estimate the effect that using an additional language in one’s job has on earnings for a sample of workers in the European Community Household Panel survey. Log-earnings regressions are estimated by country with controls for standard human capital, job, and personal characteristics. Preliminary results indicate that the use of a second language in the workplace raises earnings by about 5 to 10 percent, but the results are sensitive to the specification used and vary across countries, occupations, and gender.

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Paper provided by IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD in its series IRISS Working Paper Series with number 2006-07.

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Length: 32 pages
Date of creation: Oct 2006
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Handle: RePEc:irs:iriswp:2006-07

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  1. Christian Dustmann & Francesca Fabbri, 2003. "Language proficiency and labour market performance of immigrants in the UK," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(489), pages 695-717, 07. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Franco Peracchi, 2002. "The European Community Household Panel: A review," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 63-90. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. McManus, Walter S, 1985. "Labor Market Costs of Language Disparity: An Interpretation of Hispanic Earnings Differences," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(4), pages 818-27, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Hayfron, John E, 2001. "Language Training, Language Proficiency and Earnings of Immigrants in Norway," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 33(15), pages 1971-79, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. 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)
  6. Christian Dustmann & Arthur van Soest, 2001. "Language Fluency And Earnings: Estimation With Misclassified Language Indicators," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(4), pages 663-674, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. McManus, Walter & Gould, William & Welch, Finis, 1983. "Earnings of Hispanic Men: The Role of English Language Proficiency," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(2), pages 101-30, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Lindley, Joanne, 2002. "The English Language Fluency and Earnings of Ethnic Minorities in Britain," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 49(4), pages 467-87, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Barry R. Chiswick, 1998. "Hebrew language usage: Determinants and effects on earnings among immigrants in Israel," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 253-271. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Kossoudji, Sherrie A, 1988. "English Language Ability and the Labor Market Opportunities of Hispanic and East Asian Immigrant Men," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(2), pages 205-28, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Alejandra Cattaneo & Rainer Winkelmann, 2003. "Earning Differentials between German and French Speakers in Switzerland," Working Papers 0309, University of Zurich, Socioeconomic Institute, revised Nov 2003. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Andrew Henley & Rhian Eleri Jones, 2005. "Earnings And Linguistic Proficiency In A Bilingual Economy," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 73(3), pages 300-320, 06. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Leslie, Derek & Lindley, Joanne, 2001. "The Impact of Language Ability on Employment and Earnings of Britain's Ethnic Communities," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 68(272), pages 587-606, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Ingrid Tucci & Gert G. Wagner, 2003. "Fremdsprachenkenntnisse als wichtige Zusatzqualifikation im Dienstleistungssektor," Wochenbericht, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 70(41), pages 611-615.
  15. David E. Kalist, 2005. "Registered nurses and the value of bilingualism," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 59(1), pages 101-118, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Mussard, Stéphane & Terraza, Michel, 2007. "Décompositions des mesures d’inégalité : le cas des coefficients de Gini et d'entropie," IRISS Working Paper Series 2007-03, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Tanova, Cem, 2006. "Using Job Embeddedness Factors to Explain Voluntary Turnover in Five European Countries," IRISS Working Paper Series 2006-04, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD. [Downloadable!]
  3. Voicu, Bogdan & Voicu, Malina & Strapcova, Katarina, 2007. "Engendered housework. A cross-european analysis," IRISS Working Paper Series 2007-07, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD. [Downloadable!]
  4. Voicu, Malina & Voicu, Bogdan & Strapcova, Katarina, 2006. "Housework and gender inequality across Europe," IRISS Working Paper Series 2006-11, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD. [Downloadable!]
  5. Valentova, Marie, 2007. "Attitudes to Family Policy Arrangements in Relation to Attitudes to Family and division of Labour between Genders," IRISS Working Paper Series 2007-05, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD. [Downloadable!]
  6. Sirovatka, Tomas & Valentova, Marie, 2006. "The Legitimacy of Redistribution: the Czech Republic in International Comparison," IRISS Working Paper Series 2006-12, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD. [Downloadable!]
  7. Kankarash, Milosh & Moors, Guy, 2007. "Heterogeneity in solidarity attitudes in Europe. Insights from a multiple-group latent-class factor approach," IRISS Working Paper Series 2007-06, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD, revised Jun 2007. [Downloadable!]
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