Language and Labor Market Success

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. www.econstor.eu Terms of use: Documents in D I S C U S S I O N P A P E R S E R I E S ABSTRACT Language and Labor Market Success *This article summarizes three different strands of the literature that address the labor market effects of language-related human capital. (1) A general importance is demonstrated in the empirical evidence on earnings and employment effects of literacy as the ability to productively use written information. Significant effects are found for developed and developing countries, leading on an aggregated macro level to a positive relationship between literacy and economic development. (2) The ongoing globalization leads to an increased demand for foreign language proficiency to reduce search and information costs and overcome cultural barriers in the trade of services and goods and tourism. Against the background of scarce skill supply, employers are willing to pay significant wage premia, especially for global and local lingua franca. (3) For international migrants, destination language skills display both a prerequisite for and outcome of successful integration. Investments into destination language skills are highly rewarded by wage returns and higher employment probabilities and act as the medium of translation to apply pre-migration human capital in the destination country labor market.JEL Classification: J24, J31, J61

Foreign language skills and employment status of European natives: evidence from Germany, Italy and Spain

“…The majority of existing quantitative studies on the effects of language skills on labour market outcomes estimate earning differentials accruing to multilingual people, and for this reason they will not be discussed here (for recent overviews, see Gazzola et al 2016;Isphording 2015;Zhang and Grenier 2013;Chiswick and Miller 2007).…”

Evaluation of Language Training Programs in Luxembourg using Principal Stratification

“…They also help firms build relationships with immigrant communities in the host country. These factors lead to an increasing demand for multiple language skills, which are not always met by skilled supply (Isphording 2014).…”

“…From an economic perspective, the market value of speaking a language is determined by, among other factors, the relative importance of a language in a given country (Isphording, 2014) which is itself a function of the language diversity within the country and its degree of international integration. It is also determined by the economic importance of commerce In our observational study, we need to deal with two main complications.…”

English skills, labour market status and earnings of Turkish women

“…In addition, the recent literature has highlighted the importance of language proficiency for economic and social outcomes at the individual level. This is especially relevant for migrants, since being fluent in the host country's language contributes to their social and economic integration and success Miller 2007, 2014;Isphording 2015).…”