Speaking Fluency, Writing Fluency and Earnings of Migrants

Christian Dustmann

No 905, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: This paper analyses the determinants of language abilities of migrant workers and the impact of language proficiency on their earnings position. The analysis is based on data for West Germany. The first part presents an ordered probit analysis of the determinants of German speaking and writing fluency for both male and female migrants. The data allow an analysis not only of migrants personal characteristics as explanatory variables but, additionally, of the effect of the family context and of illiteracy on the migrant's German language fluency. In the second part, the effect of language on the migrant's earnings position is analysed. It is shown that language abilities, and especially writing proficiency, considerably improve the earnings position of migrants.

Keywords: Human Capital; International Migration; Ordinal Probit Models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C35 F22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1994-02
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (186)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=905 (application/pdf)
CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org

Related works:
Journal Article: Speaking Fluency, Writing Fluency and Earnings of Migrants (1994)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:905

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://www.cepr.org/ ... pers/dp.php?dpno=905

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers Centre for Economic Policy Research, 33 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().