Languages Disenfranchisement in the European Union

Shlomo Weber and Victor Ginsburgh
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Shlomo Weber: Southern Methodist University, Dallas and Center of Operation Research and Econometrics, Louvain

No 2004.4, Working Papers from Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Abstract: We introduce the notion of language disenfranchisement which arises if the number of EU working languages is reduced. We use the data on language proficiency in EU and show that, in spite of the widespread knowledge of English, the retention of French and German as working languages in essential to avoid a too large degree of disenfranchisement of citizens. The picture, however, becomes somewhat different if we consider the population under age of 40. We also argue that even though French is the second leading language within the EU, the situation is likely to be reversed after the enlargement.

Keywords: Languages; Disenfranchisement; European Union (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D70 O52 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Language Disenfranchisement in the European Union* (2005)
Working Paper: Language disenfranchisement in the European Union (2005)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.4

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