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Age at Arrival, English Proficiency, and Social Assimilation among US Immigrants

Hoyt Bleakley and Aimee Chin

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2010, vol. 2, issue 1, 165-92

Abstract: Are the English proficiency and social outcomes of US immigrants the result of their cultural preferences or of more fundamental constraints? Using 2000 census microdata, we relate the English proficiency, marriage, fertility, and residential location variables of immigrants to their age at the time of arrival in the United States, and, in particular, whether that age fell within the "critical period" of language acquisition. We interpret the differences between younger and older arrivers as effects of English language skills and construct an instrumental variable for English language skills. Two-stage-least-squares estimates suggest English proficiency increases the likelihood of divorce and intermarriage. It decreases fertility and, for some, ethnic enclave residence. (JEL J11, J13, J61, R23, Z13)

JEL-codes: J11 J13 J61 R23 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.2.1.165
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (243)

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Working Paper: Age at Arrival, English Proficiency, and Social Assimilation Among U.S. Immigrants (2009) Downloads
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