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The effect of linguistic proximity on the labour market outcomes of the asylum population

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  • Lorraine Wong

    (International Labour Organization)

Abstract

The paper studies the influence of linguistic proximity on the labour market outcomes of the asylum population. Asylum seekers are randomly assigned to a location upon arrival in Switzerland. Switzerland is divided by the dominant language spoken in each municipality, either German or Romance (French and Italian) languages. Using an administrative dataset, I compare the outcomes of asylum seekers from different countries from 2010 to 2014. I find that linguistic proximity increases employment, especially among the earlier arrival cohorts. I find neither discernible effect of proximity to English on economic integration nor differences in outcomes across language regions. These findings provide descriptive evidence in support of acquiring local languages.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorraine Wong, 2023. "The effect of linguistic proximity on the labour market outcomes of the asylum population," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(2), pages 609-652, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:36:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s00148-022-00906-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-022-00906-0
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Asylum seekers; Language; Labour market outcomes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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