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Growing up in Ethnic Enclaves: Language Proficiency and Educational Attainment of Immigrant Children

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  • Alexander M. Danzer
  • Carsten Feuerbaum
  • Marc Piopiunik
  • Ludger Woessmann

Abstract

Does a high regional concentration of immigrants of the same ethnicity affect immigrant children’s acquisition of host-country language skills and educational attainment? We exploit the exogenous placement of guest workers from five ethnicities across German regions during the 1960s and 1970s in a model with region and ethnicity fixed effects. Our results indicate that exposure to a higher own-ethnic concentration impairs immigrant children’s host-country language proficiency and increases school dropout. A key mediating factor for this effect is parents’ lower speaking proficiency in the host-country language, whereas inter-ethnic contacts with natives and economic conditions do not play a role.

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  • Alexander M. Danzer & Carsten Feuerbaum & Marc Piopiunik & Ludger Woessmann, 2018. "Growing up in Ethnic Enclaves: Language Proficiency and Educational Attainment of Immigrant Children," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1010, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1010
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    Cited by:

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    3. Ludger Wößmann & Florian Schoner & Vera Freundl & Franziska Pfaehler, 2023. "Der ifo-„Ein Herz für Kinder“- Chancenmonitor: Wie (un-)gerecht sind die Bildungschancen von Kindern aus verschiedenen Familien in Deutschland verteilt?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 76(04), pages 29-47, April.
    4. 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.
    5. Foged, Mette & Hasager, Linea & Peri, Giovanni & Arendt, Jacob Nielsen & Bolvig, Iben, 2023. "Intergenerational spillover effects of language training for refugees," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    6. Höckel, Lisa Sofie & Schilling, Pia, 2022. "Starting off on the right foot: Language learning classes and the educational success of immigrant children," Ruhr Economic Papers 983, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    7. Laliberté, Jean-William, 2019. "Language skill acquisition in immigrant social networks: Evidence from Australia," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 35-45.
    8. Monteiro, Stein, 2021. "Cultural Assimilation: Learning and Sorting," MPRA Paper 110997, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Silke Anger & Malte Sandner & Alexander M. Danzer & Axel Plünnecke & Olaf Köller & Enzo Weber & Samuel Mühlemann & Harald Pfeifer & Bernhard Wittek, 2020. "Schulschließungen, fehlende Ausbildungsplätze, keine Jobs: Generation ohne Zukunft?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 73(09), pages 03-24, September.
    10. Brücker, Herbert & Hauptmann, Andreas & Jaschke, Philipp, 2020. "Beschränkungen der Wohnortwahl für anerkannte Geflüchtete: Wohnsitzauflagen reduzieren die Chancen auf Arbeitsmarktintegration (Restrictions on the choice of residence for recognized refugees: Residen," IAB-Kurzbericht 202003, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    11. Johan Klaesson & Özge Öner & Dieter Pennerstorfer, 2023. "Do co-ethnic commuters disseminate labor market information? Evidence from geocoded register data," Economics working papers 2023-16, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigrant children; ethnic concentration; language; education; guest workers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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