Language knowledge and earnings in Catalonia
Di Paolo, Antonio (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Economia Aplicada)
Raymond Bara, José Luis (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Economia i d'Història Econòmica)

Data:	2012
Resum:	This paper represents the first contribution that investigates the economic value of Catalan knowledge in terms of earnings, focusing on national and foreign first- and second-generation immigrants in Catalonia. Specifically, drawing on data from the "Survey on Living Conditions and Habits of the Catalan Population (2006)", we want to quantify the expected earnings differential between individuals who are proficient in Catalan and those who are not, taking into account the potential endogeneity between knowledge of Catalan and earnings. The results indicate the existence of a positive return to knowledge of Catalan, with a 7. 5% increase in earnings estimated by OLS; however, when we account for the presence of endogeneity, monthly earnings are around 18% higher for individuals who are able to speak and write Catalan. However, we also find that language and education are complementary inputs for generating earnings in Catalonia, given that knowledge of Catalan increases monthly earnings only for more educated individuals.
Drets:	Tots els drets reservats.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Matèria:	Language ; Earnings ; Immigrants ; Endogeneity ; Complementarity
Publicat a:	Journal of Applied Economics, Vol. 15 Núm. 1 (May 2012) -33, ISSN 1514-0326

DOI: 10.1016/S1514-0326(12)60005-1

Postprint 33 p, 727.2 KB

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