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The low return to English fluency during the Age of Mass Migration☆

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  • Zachary Ward

Abstract

English skills are highly valuable for today’s immigrants, but has this always been the case? I estimate the premium for English fluency and the rate of language acquisition in the early 20th century US using new linked data on over two hundred thousand immigrants. Few early 20th century immigrants arrived with English proficiency, yet many acquired language skills rapidly after arrival. Based on individual fixed effects, acquiring English fluency was associated with a small upgrade in occupational income. The results suggest that English fluency was less important for economic assimilation in the early 20th century than in recent decades.

Suggested Citation

  • Zachary Ward, 2020. "The low return to English fluency during the Age of Mass Migration☆," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 24(2), pages 219-242.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ereveh:v:24:y:2020:i:2:p:219-242.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ereh/hez007
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    Cited by:

    1. Ran Abramitzky & Philipp Ager & Leah Platt Boustan & Elior Cohen & Casper W. Hansen, 2019. "The Effects of Immigration on the Economy: Lessons from the 1920s Border Closure," NBER Working Papers 26536, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Ager, Philipp & Malein, Viktor, 2024. "The Long-term Effects of Charity Nurseries: Evidence from Early 20th Century New York," CEPR Discussion Papers 19317, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Philipp Ager & Viktor Malein, 2024. "The Long-term Effects of Charity Nurseries: Evidence from Early 20th Century New York," Working Papers 0263, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    4. Leticia Arroyo Abad & Noel Maurer & Blanca Sánchez‐Alonso, 2021. "Paesani versus paisanos: the relative failure of Spanish immigrants in Buenos Aires during the age of mass migration," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(2), pages 546-567, May.
    5. David Escamilla-Guerrero, 2020. "Revisiting Mexican migration in the Age of Mass Migration: New evidence from individual border crossings," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(4), pages 207-225, October.
    6. Sinding Bentzen, Jeanet & Boberg-Fazli´c, Nina & Sharp, Paul & Volmar Skovsgaard, Christian & Vedel, Christian, 2024. "Assimilate for God: The Impact of Religious Divisions on Danish American Communities," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 703, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    7. James J. Feigenbaum & Hui Ren Tan, 2019. "The Return to Education in the Mid-20th Century: Evidence from Twins," NBER Working Papers 26407, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Santiago Pérez, 2019. "Southern (American) Hospitality: Italians in Argentina and the US during the Age of Mass Migration," NBER Working Papers 26127, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Ran Abramitzky & Leah Platt Boustan & Elisa Jácome & Santiago Pérez, 2019. "Intergenerational Mobility of Immigrants in the US over Two Centuries," NBER Working Papers 26408, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Philipp Ager & Viktor Malein, 2024. "The Long-term Effects of Charity Nurseries: Evidence from Early 20th Century New York," Working Papers 0263, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    11. Martina Cioni & Giovanni Federico & Michelangelo Vasta, 2021. "Spreading Clio: a quantitative analysis of the first 25 years of the European Review of Economic History [Plague in seventeenth-century Europe and the decline of Italy: an epidemiological hypothesi," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 25(4), pages 618-644.
    12. Escamilla-Guerrero, David & Kosack, Edward & Ward, Zachary, 2021. "Life after crossing the border: Assimilation during the first Mexican mass migration," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    13. William J. Collins & Ariell Zimran, 2019. "Working Their Way Up? US Immigrants' Changing Labor Market Assimilation in the Age of Mass Migration," NBER Working Papers 26414, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Timothy J. Hatton & Zachary Ward, 2024. "International Migration in the Atlantic Economy 1850–1940," Springer Books, in: Claude Diebolt & Michael Haupert (ed.), Handbook of Cliometrics, edition 3, pages 507-535, Springer.
    15. Ran Abramitzky & Leah Platt Boustan & Dylan Connor, 2020. "Leaving the Enclave: Historical Evidence on Immigrant Mobility from the Industrial Removal Office," NBER Working Papers 27372, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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