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Is Bilingual Education Desirable in Multilingual countries?

Author

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  • Yuki Kazuhiro

    (Faculty of Economics, Kyoto University, Yoshida-hommachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan)

Abstract

In many countries, people use their mother tongue in local business, but use the language of the former colonizer in national business. How much weight should be placed on teaching one’s mother tongue and the lingua franca is a critical issue in these countries. This paper develops a model to examine these issues theoretically. It is shown that balanced education of the two languages is critical for skill development of those with limited wealth. It is also found that balanced bilingual education yields higher earnings net of educational expenditure than lingua-franca-only education only when a country has favorable educational and technological conditions (productivity is reasonably high and education is reasonably effective) and only for those with adequate wealth. Policy implications of the results are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuki Kazuhiro, 2022. "Is Bilingual Education Desirable in Multilingual countries?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 22(4), pages 889-949, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:22:y:2022:i:4:p:889-949:n:9
    DOI: 10.1515/bejeap-2022-0123
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    Cited by:

    1. Yuki, Kazuhiro, 2024. "Language education and economic outcomes in a bilingual society," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    language policy; bilingual education; human capital; economic development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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