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The measurement of the value of a language

Author

Listed:
  • Jorge Alcalde-Unzu

    (Universidad Pública de Navarra)

  • Juan D. Moreno-Ternero

    (Universidad Pablo de Olavide)

  • Shlomo Weber

    (New Economic School)

Abstract
We address the problem of assessing the value of a language. We consider a stylized model of multilingual societies in which we introduce axioms formalizing the principles of impartiality, monotonicity, invariance and consistency. We show that the combination of these axioms characterizes a family of communicative benefit functions which assign a value to each language in the society. The functions within the family involve a two-step procedure. First, they identify the groups of agents that can communicate in each language. Second, each group is assigned an aggregate (size-dependent) value, which is evenly divided among the languages in which the group can communicate. Our novel approach could be useful in a wide range of empirical applications and policy decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Jorge Alcalde-Unzu & Juan D. Moreno-Ternero & Shlomo Weber, 2022. "The measurement of the value of a language," Working Papers 22.07, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:pab:wpaper:22.07
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    3. Victor Ginsburgh & Juan D. Moreno-Ternero, 2023. "The Eurovision Song Contest: voting rules, biases and rationality," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(2), pages 247-277, June.
    4. Gustavo Bergantiños & Christian Trudeau, 2024. "Monotonicity and the value of a language," Working Papers 2403, University of Windsor, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Value of a language; Communicative benefits; Measure; Axioms; Characterization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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