A macro-level analysis of language learning and migration

Silke Uebelmesser, Sommerfeld Ann-Marie () and Weingarten Severin ()
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Sommerfeld Ann-Marie: 9375 University of Göttingen, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 3, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Weingarten Severin: 9378 Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Carl-Zeiss-Str. 3, 07743 Jena, Germany

German Economic Review, 2022, vol. 23, issue 2, 181-232

Abstract: This article investigates the macro-level drivers of adult-age language learning with a focus on migration based on a new dataset on German language learning in 77 countries (including Germany) for 1992–2006. Fixed-effects regressions show that language learning abroad is strongly associated with immigration from countries of the European Union and the Schengen Area whose citizens enjoy free access to Germany, while language learning in Germany is strongly associated with immigration from countries with restricted access. The different degrees of uncertainty about access to Germany seem to be of importance for preparatory language learning. To shed light on country heterogeneities, we substitute the location fixed effects with a vector of country characteristics, which include several distance measures among others, and we estimate a random-effects model. Last, we provide some tentative arguments in favour of a causal interpretation. The main results related to the role of uncertainty are mostly unaffected. The Skilled Immigration Act from 2020 removes part of this uncertainty with potential positive effects on preparatory language learning and economic and social integration.

Keywords: language skills; language learning; migration; labour market access; new dataset (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J24 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1515/ger-2020-0067

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