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The Return to English in a Non-English Speaking Country: Russian Immigrants and Native Israelis in Israel

  • Kevin Lang and Erez Siniver
Published/Copyright: November 17, 2009
The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy
From the journal The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy Volume 9 Issue 1

Abstract

Using a unique sample of Russian immigrants and native Israelis, we examine the return to English knowledge. Panel and cross-section estimates of the return to English are substantial for highly educated immigrants and natives. Hebrew and English language acquisition contribute to immigrant/native earnings convergence, but most convergence is explained by other factors. While immigrants with low levels of education do not benefit from knowing English, native Israelis may. Conditional on occupation, English and Hebrew acquisition are largely orthogonal. Therefore earlier work on the importance of knowledge of the host-country language (Hebrew) is not significantly biased by unmeasured English knowledge.

Keywords: language; human capital; language/skill complementarity
Published Online: 2009-11-17

©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.2202/1935-1682.2274
Keywords for this article
language; human capital; language/skill complementarity

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Advances Article
  2. Economic Influences on Moral Values
  3. When Does Teacher Licensure Make Sense?
  4. Effects of Socio-Economic and Input-Related Factors on Polluting Plants' Location Decisions
  5. Vintage Effects and the Diffusion of Time-Saving Technological Innovations
  6. Where Should we Submit our Manuscript? An Analysis of Journal Submission Strategies
  7. Barriers to Competition and Productivity: Evidence from India
  8. Contributions Article
  9. All in the Family: Mental Health Spillover Effects between Working Spouses
  10. Third-Degree Price Discrimination with Buyer Power
  11. Using the Error in Pre-Election Polls to Test for the Presence of Pork
  12. Acting White or Acting Black: Mixed-Race Adolescents' Identity and Behavior
  13. The Effects of Mobile Phones and Hands-Free Laws on Traffic Fatalities
  14. Estimating the Price Effects of Non-Tariff Barriers
  15. The Impact of Smoking Bans on the Hospitality Industry: New Evidence from Stock Market Returns
  16. The Effect of Price on Pharmaceutical R&D
  17. Great Moderation at the Firm Level? Unconditional vs. Conditional Output Volatility
  18. The Default-Prone U.S. Toxic Asset Auction Plan
  19. Prosecutorial Discretion in Mutual Fund Settlement Negotiations, 2003-7
  20. Too Cold for a Jog? Weather, Exercise, and Socioeconomic Status
  21. Genetic Tests and Inter-Temporal Screening in Competitive Insurance Markets
  22. American Idol: Evidence on Same-Race Preferences
  23. Fiscal and Externality Rationales for Alcohol Policies
  24. Effects of Environmental Regulation on Economic Activity and Pollution in Commercial Agriculture
  25. The Political Economy of Agricultural Market Reforms in Developing Countries
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  27. An Efficiency Perspective on the Gains from Mergers and Asset Purchases
  28. Village Economies and the Structure of Extended Family Networks
  29. Tobacco Use as Response to Economic Insecurity: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
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