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Effects of language proficiency on labour, social and health outcomes of immigrants in Australia

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  • Tam, King Wa
  • Page, Lionel

Abstract

We investigate the causal effect of English proficiency on labour, social and health outcomes of immigrants in Australia. We use age at arrival combined with country of origin to form an instrument of English proficiency. We find that immigrants in Australia with better language proficiency are able to earn higher income, attain higher level of education, have higher probability of complete tertiary studies, and get more hours of work per week. Language proficiency also improves social integration, leading to higher probability of marriage to a native and higher probability of obtaining citizenship. We find only limited evidence with respect to the hypothesised causal relationship between language and health for immigrants. This last result may be due to small sample sizes.

Suggested Citation

  • Tam, King Wa & Page, Lionel, 2016. "Effects of language proficiency on labour, social and health outcomes of immigrants in Australia," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 66-78.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:52:y:2016:i:c:p:66-78
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2016.08.003
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Zhou, Yonghong & Zhu, Rong & Zheng, Xian, 2020. "Second language skills and labor market outcomes: Evidence from the handover of Hong Kong," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    3. Nivorozhkin, Anton & Poeschel, Friedrich, 2022. "Working conditions in essential occupations and the role of migrants," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 250-261.
    4. Jongkwan Lee & Anthony Niu & Hee-Seung Yang, 2022. "Language Proficiency and Subjective Well-being: Evidence from Immigrants in Australia," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 1847-1866, June.

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    Keywords

    English proficiency; Childhood immigrants;

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