Learning Foreign Languages. Theoretical and Empirical Implications of the Selten and Pool Model

Victor Ginsburgh, Ignacio Ortuno-Ortin and Shlomo Weber
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Ignacio Ortuno Ortin

ULB Institutional Repository from ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles

Abstract: In this paper we adopt the Selten–Pool [Selten, R. Pool, J. 1991. The distribution of foreign language skills as a game equilibrium. In: Selten, R. (Ed.), Game Equilibrium Models, vol. 4. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 64–84] framework of language acquisition based on “communicative benefits” derived from the ability to communicate with other speakers of an acquired language, and “learning costs” incurred by acquiring a foreign language. We show that, under some mild conditions, there exists a unique interior linguistic equilibrium. We then derive demand functions for foreign languages, that we estimate for English, French, German and Spanish in 13 European countries and demonstrate that the properties of these functions are consistent with our theoretical results.

Date: 2007
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (44)

Published in: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (2007) v.64 n° 3-4,p.337-347

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Related works:
Journal Article: Learning foreign languages: Theoretical and empirical implications of the Selten and Pool model (2007)
Working Paper: Learning foreign languages: Theoretical and empirical implications of the Selten and Pool model (2007)
Working Paper: Learning Foreign Languages.Theoretical and Empirical Implications of the Selten and Pool Model (2005)
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