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Disadvantages of linguistic origin—Evidence from immigrant literacy scores

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  • Isphording, Ingo E.

Abstract

This study quantifies the disadvantage in literacy skills that arises from the linguistic distance between their mother tongue and host country language, combining individual cross-country data on literacy scores with unique information on the linguistic distance between languages.

Suggested Citation

  • Isphording, Ingo E., 2014. "Disadvantages of linguistic origin—Evidence from immigrant literacy scores," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 123(2), pages 236-239.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:123:y:2014:i:2:p:236-239
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2014.02.013
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew Clarke & Ingo E. Isphording, 2017. "Language Barriers and Immigrant Health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(6), pages 765-778, June.
    2. Isphording, Ingo E. & Piopiunik, Marc & Rodríguez-Planas, Núria, 2016. "Speaking in numbers: The effect of reading performance on math performance among immigrants," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 52-56.
    3. Höckel, Lisa, 2019. "Speaking the same language - The effect of foreign origin teachers on students’ language skills," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203638, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Joseph Flavian Gomes, 2020. "The health costs of ethnic distance: evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 195-226, June.
    5. Ingo E. Isphording, 2015. "What drives the language proficiency of immigrants?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 177-177, August.
    6. Lisa Sofie Höckel, 2024. "Language lesson learned—foreign-origin teachers and their effect on students’ language skills," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 1-32, June.
    7. Tani, Massimiliano, 2018. "Selective Immigration, Occupational Licensing, and Labour Market Outcomes of Foreign-Trained Migrants," IZA Discussion Papers 11370, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Victor Ginsburgh & Shlomo Weber, 2020. "The Economics of Language," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(2), pages 348-404, June.
    9. Oliver Himmler & Robert Jäckle, 2018. "Literacy and the Migrant–Native Wage Gap," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(3), pages 592-625, September.
    10. Tara Sinclair & Mariano Mamertino, 2016. "Online Job Search and Migration Intentions Across EU Member States," Working Papers 2016-5, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    11. Boysen-Hogrefe, Jens & Fiedler, Salomon & Groll, Dominik & Jannsen, Nils & Kooths, Stefan & Plödt, Martin & Potjagailo, Galina, 2015. "Deutsche Konjunktur im Winter 2015 - Aufschwung gewinnt wieder an Fahrt [German Economy Winter 2015 - The German economy is regaining momentum]," Kieler Konjunkturberichte 14, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    12. Tobias Böhmelt & Vincenzo Bove, 2020. "Does cultural proximity contain terrorism diffusion?," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 57(2), pages 251-264, March.
    13. Tani, Massimiliano, 2018. "Selective immigration policies, occupational licensing, and the quality of migrants’ education-occupation match," GLO Discussion Paper Series 206, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    14. Braun, Sebastian & Stöhr, Tobias, 2015. "Zur Arbeitsmarktintegration von Flüchtlingen," Kiel Insight 2015.24, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    15. Zeynep Ozkok & Brandon Malloy & Amy Rowe, 2022. "The Impact of Linguistic Distance from English on Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Analysis," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, March.
    16. Rosario Scandurra & Marco Alberio, 2021. "A Classification of Factors Affecting Adults’ Skills Distribution," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, May.
    17. Astghik Mavisakalyan & Clas Weber, 2018. "Linguistic Structures And Economic Outcomes," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 916-939, July.
    18. Clarke, Andrew & Isphording, Ingo E., 2015. "Language Barriers and Immigrant Health Production," IZA Discussion Papers 8846, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Dale-Olsen, Harald & Finseraas, Henning, 2020. "Linguistic diversity and workplace productivity," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Linguistic distance; Literacy; Human capital; Immigrants;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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