Intergenerational Spillover Effects of Language Training for Refugees

Children of refugees are among the most economically disadvantaged youth in several European countries. They are more likely to drop out of school and to commit crime. We show that a reform in Denmark in 1999, that expanded language training for adult refugees and improved their economic integration, had significant intergenerational spillover effects in terms of higher completion rates from lower secondary school and lower juvenile crime rates. The effects on crime are driven by boys who were below school-starting age when their parents were treated.