[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/glodps/419.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Social Contacts, Dutch Language Proficiency and Immigrant Economic Performance in the Netherlands

Author

Listed:
  • Chiswick, Barry R.
  • Wang, Zhiling
Abstract
Using longitudinal data on immigrants in the Netherlands fromthe survey 'Social Position and Use of Public Facilities by Immigrants' (SPVA) for the years 1991, 1994, 1998, 2002, we examined the impacts of social contacts and Dutch language proficiency on adult foreign-born men's earnings, employment and occupational status. On average, social contacts and a good mastery of the Dutch language enhance immigrants'economic performances. The effects are much stronger for immigrants with low-skill-transferability than for immigrants with high-skill-transferability, are stronger for economic migrants than for non-economic migrants, and are stronger for white-collar workers than for blue-collar workers. Contact with Dutch people and Dutch organisations unambiguously enhances all aspects of immigrants' economic performance, however, no evidence is found for a positive effect of co-ethnic contact on employment status. To deal with the endogeneity between Dutch language ability and earnings, an interaction term between age at migration and a dichotomous variable for a non-Dutch-speaking origin is used as the identifying instrument. The selectivity issue of survey respondents was tackled as well to validate the main findings. The study has a strong policy implication for integration policies in the Netherlands, or more broadly in the immigrant receiving countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiswick, Barry R. & Wang, Zhiling, 2019. "Social Contacts, Dutch Language Proficiency and Immigrant Economic Performance in the Netherlands," GLO Discussion Paper Series 419, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:419
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/205799/1/GLO-DP-0419.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yannis M. Ioannides & Linda Datcher Loury, 2004. "Job Information Networks, Neighborhood Effects, and Inequality," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(4), pages 1056-1093, December.
    2. Mark C. Regets & Harriet Orcutt Duleep, 1999. "Immigrants and Human-Capital Investment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 186-191, May.
    3. Yao, Y. & van Ours, J.C., 2015. "Language Skills and Labor Market Performance of Immigrants in the Netherlands," Discussion Paper 2015-010, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    4. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1.
    5. Christian Dustmann & Arthur van Soest, 2001. "Language Fluency And Earnings: Estimation With Misclassified Language Indicators," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(4), pages 663-674, November.
    6. Montgomery, James D, 1991. "Social Networks and Labor-Market Outcomes: Toward an Economic Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(5), pages 1407-1418, December.
    7. Geoffrey Carliner, 1981. "Wage Differences by Language Group and the Market for Language Skills in Canada," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 16(3), pages 384-399.
    8. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling and Earnings," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 41-63, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Zhiling Wang & Thomas De Graaff & Peter Nijkamp, 2016. "Cultural Diversity and Cultural Distance as Choice Determinants of Migration Destination," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 176-200, June.
    10. Woolcock, Michael & Narayan, Deepa, 2000. "Social Capital: Implications for Development Theory, Research, and Policy," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 15(2), pages 225-249, August.
    11. Agnieszka Kanas & Barry R. Chiswick & Tanja Lippe & Frank Tubergen, 2012. "Social Contacts and the Economic Performance of Immigrants: A Panel Study of Immigrants in G ermany," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 680-709, September.
    12. Ganzeboom, H.B.G. & de Graaf, P.M. & Treiman, D.J. & de Leeuw, J., 1992. "A standard international socio-economic index of occupational status," WORC Paper 92.01.001/1, Tilburg University, Work and Organization Research Centre.
    13. Chiswick, Barry R & Miller, Paul W, 1995. "The Endogeneity between Language and Earnings: International Analyses," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(2), pages 246-288, April.
    14. Barry R Chiswick & Paul W Miller, 2007. "Earnings and Occupational Attainment: Immigrants and the Native Born," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 07-08, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    15. Kenneth Clark & Stephen Drinkwater & Derek Leslie, 1998. "Ethnicity and self-employment earnings in Britain 1973-95," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(10), pages 631-634.
    16. Kenneth Clark & Stephen Drinkwater, 1998. "Ethnicity and Self‐Employment in Britain," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 60(3), pages 383-407, August.
    17. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Introduction to "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings"," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 1-4, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. repec:fth:tilbur:99117 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. van Ours, J.C. & Veenman, J.M.C., 1999. "The Netherlands : Old Emigrants - Young Immigrant Country," Other publications TiSEM 0bc97534-374e-4175-9bd2-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    20. Christian Dustmann & Francesca Fabbri, 2003. "Language proficiency and labour market performance of immigrants in the UK," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(489), pages 695-717, July.
    21. Hoyt Bleakley & Aimee Chin, 2004. "Language Skills and Earnings: Evidence from Childhood Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 481-496, May.
    22. McManus, Walter & Gould, William & Welch, Finis, 1983. "Earnings of Hispanic Men: The Role of English Language Proficiency," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(2), pages 101-130, April.
    23. Stephen Nickell, 1982. "The Determinants of Occupational Success in Britain," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 49(1), pages 43-53.
    24. Chiswick, Barry R, 1978. "The Effect of Americanization on the Earnings of Foreign-born Men," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(5), pages 897-921, October.
    25. Yao, Yuxin & van Ours, Jan C., 2015. "Language skills and labor market performance of immigrants in the Netherlands," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 76-85.
    26. Budría, Santiago & Swedberg, Pablo, 2012. "The Impact of Language Proficiency on Immigrants' Earnings in Spain," IZA Discussion Papers 6957, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Foged, Mette & van der Werf, Cynthia, 2023. "Access to language training and the local integration of refugees," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    2. Cheng, Zhiming & Wang, Ben Zhe & Jiang, Zhou & Taksa, Lucy & Tani, Massimiliano, 2020. "English Skills and Early Labour Market Integration: Evidence from Humanitarian Migrants in Australia," GLO Discussion Paper Series 672, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Nicole Black & Johannes S. Kunz, 2024. "The Intergenerational Effects of Language Proficiency on Child Health Outcomes: Evidence from Survey- and Census-matched Health Care Records," Papers 2024-11, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University.
    4. Hong, Jieying & Zhang, Rui, 2021. "Socialization, job search and integration," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Cheng, Zhiming & Wang, Ben Zhe & Jiang, Zhou & Taksa, Lucy & Tani, Massimiliano, 2020. "English Skills and Early Labour Market Integration of Humanitarian Migrants," IZA Discussion Papers 13728, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chiswick, Barry R. & Wang, Zhiling, 2016. "Social Contacts, Dutch Language Proficiency and Immigrant Economic Performance in the Netherlands: A Longitudinal Study," IZA Discussion Papers 9760, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Zhiling Wang & Thomas de Graaff & Peter Nijkamp, 2018. "Barriers of Culture, Networks, and Language in International Migration: A Review," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 5, pages 73-89.
    3. Bonin, Holger, 2017. "The Potential Economic Benefits of Education of Migrants in the EU," IZA Research Reports 75, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. De Paola, Maria & Brunello, Giorgio, 2016. "Education as a Tool for the Economic Integration of Migrants," IZA Discussion Papers 9836, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Aldashev, Alisher & Gernandt, Johannes & Thomsen, Stephan L., 2009. "Language usage, participation, employment and earnings: Evidence for foreigners in West Germany with multiple sources of selection," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 330-341, June.
    6. Gao, Wenshu & Smyth, Russell, 2011. "Economic returns to speaking 'standard Mandarin' among migrants in China's urban labour market," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 342-352, April.
    7. Dustmann, Christian & Glitz, Albrecht, 2011. "Migration and Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 327-439, Elsevier.
    8. Xiahai Wei & Tony Fang & Yang Jiao & Jiahui Li, 2019. "Language Premium Myth or Fact: Evidence from Migrant Workers of Guangdong, China," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 356-386, September.
    9. Zorlu, Aslan & Hartog, Joop, 2018. "The Impact of Language on Socioeconomic Integration of Immigrants," IZA Discussion Papers 11485, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Chiswick, Barry R. & Miller, Paul W., 2014. "International Migration and the Economics of Language," IZA Discussion Papers 7880, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Lang, Julia, 2018. "Employment effects of language training for unemployed immigrants," IAB-Discussion Paper 201821, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    12. Davia, María A. & Wang, Ting & Gámez, Matías, 2019. "Language proficiency and immigrants’ labor market outcomes in post-crisis Spain," MPRA Paper 94795, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Mary Antonia Silles, 2018. "The Effects of Language Skills on the Economic Assimilation of Female Immigrants in the United States," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 86(6), pages 789-815, December.
    14. Carl Lin, 2016. "How Do Immigrants From Taiwan Fare In The U.S. Labor Market?," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 61(05), pages 1-38, December.
    15. Oliver Himmler & Robert Jäckle, 2018. "Literacy and the Migrant–Native Wage Gap," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(3), pages 592-625, September.
    16. Sorrenti, Giuseppe, 2017. "The Spanish or the German apartment? Study abroad and the acquisition of permanent skills," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 142-158.
    17. Yao, Yuxin, 2017. "Essays on economics of language and family economics," Other publications TiSEM 0093bc8e-e869-4f87-8ff8-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    18. Zizhen Wang, 2020. "Bonding and Bridging Social Capital: The Determinants of English Language Fluency and Its Effects on the Labour Market Outcome of International Students in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 51(1), pages 35-61.
    19. Yu Aoki & Lualhati Santiago, 2024. "Where to live? English proficiency and residential location of UK migrants," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2024 27, Stata Users Group.
    20. Lang Kevin & Siniver Erez, 2009. "The Return to English in a Non-English Speaking Country: Russian Immigrants and Native Israelis in Israel," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-30, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigrants; social capital; Dutch language proficiency; labour market performance; skill transferability; the Netherlands;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:419. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/glabode.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.