Language-Skill Complementarity: Returns to Immigrant Language Acquisition
37 Pages Posted: 12 Jun 2000 Last revised: 24 Aug 2022
Date Written: June 2000
Abstract
We examine the effect of language acquisition on the growth of immigrants' earnings. We gathered data on recent Soviet immigrants to Israel that include retrospective questions on earnings and language ability on entry into their current job. Language acquisition is found to interact positively with occupation level. Immigrant programmers and computer technicians have a return to tenure about three percentage points higher than that of natives; improved Hebrew language skills account for between 2/3 and 3/4 of that differential wage growth. In contrast, construction workers and gas station attendants have no convergence of wages to those of natives and language acquisition has no discernible effect on their wages. For these less skilled workers the estimated return' to Hebrew proficiency in the cross-section is entirely due to ability bias. This finding may invite a reinterpretation of other studies on the returns to language acquisition for low wage immigrants.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Immigration, Search and Loss of Skill
By Yoram Weiss, Robert M. Sauer, ...
-
On the Wage Growth of Immigrants: Israel, 1990-2000
By Zvi Eckstein and Yoram Weiss
-
On the Wage Growth of Immigrants: Israel, 1990-2000
By Zvi Eckstein and Yoram Weiss
-
Labor Mobility of Immigrants: Training, Experience, Language and Opportunities
By Sarit Cohen-goldner and Zvi Eckstein
-
Labour Mobility of Immigrants: Training, Experience, Language and Opportunities
By Sarit Cohen-goldner and Zvi Eckstein
-
Occupational Attainment and Immigrant Economic Progress in Australia
By Barry R. Chiswick and Paul W. Miller