Language Diversity and Economic Consequences in India

Tarun Jain

Chapter Chapter 20 in The Palgrave Handbook of Economics and Language, 2026, pp 559-574 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract India is exceptional in the number and diversity of languages in one country. This chapter focuses on India’s modern experience of navigating a multi-linguistic state and its consequences for economic development. Drawing on recent empirical analysis using new data sources and more credible research designs, specific sections examine how language influences education (particularly debates on medium of instruction) and facilitates or hinders access to healthcare. The chapter highlights how new forms of employment, as well as labor migration, are associated with the acquisition of new languages. Finally, the chapter discusses the role of language in creating social identity and possible conflicts, an important consideration in a diverse country. I offer some views where future researchers can explore the dynamics of language in India and elsewhere.

Keywords: Medium of instruction; Mother tongue language; Linguistic distance; Education; Health; Migration; English medium; New education policy; Tribal languages; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-88240-1_20

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-88240-1_20

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