The Economics of Language

Shlomo Weber and Victor Ginsburgh

No 13002, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: The paper brings together methodological, theoretical, and empirical analysis into the single framework of linguistic diversity. It reflects both historical and contemporary research by economists and other social scientists on the impact of language on economic outcomes and public policies. We examine whether and how language influences human thinking (including emotions) and behavior, analyze the effects of linguistic distances on trade, migrations, financial markets, language learning and its returns. The quantitative foundations of linguistic diversity, which rely on group identification, linguistic distances as well as fractionalization, polarization and disenfranchisement indices are discussed in terms of their empirical challenges and uses. We conclude with an analysis of linguistic policies and shifts of languages and examine their welfare effects and the trade-offs between the development of labor markets and the social costs that they generate in various countries.

Keywords: Languages; Economic behavior; Educational linguistic policies; Linguistic distances; Diversity indices; Welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F13 F22 G11 H11 J15 J3 O10 Z13 Z18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-hpe and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The Economics of Language (2020)
Working Paper: The Economics of Language (2020)
Working Paper: The Economics of Language (2018)
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