English Proficiency and Earnings of Foreign-Born Immigrants in the USA from 1980 to 2000: The Effect of Minority-Language Enclaves

Ying Zhen

Forum for Social Economics, 2016, vol. 45, issue 4, 329-349

Abstract: This paper compares the importance of English proficiency (EP) on earnings among the foreign-born immigrants from 1980 to 2000 and shows its importance varied over time. The key issue examined is changes in the impact of being in a minority-language enclave and its interactions with the return to EP. Results show that the negative effects of enclaves were the greatest in 1990 and such effects were significantly stronger among those fluent English speakers. The relationship between EP and the enclave effects is explored, which confirms their strong interaction in 1990. However, the evidence of fluent speakers' large migrations from enclaves between 1990 and 2000 is not strong, as of the 24 foreign language groups, 13 showed decreases in fluency in enclaves relative to non-enclaves, while 11 showed increases in fluency in enclaves relative to non-enclaves. This may relate to non-wage benefits of living in enclaves, such as social benefits.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2015.1026920

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