Age at Arrival, English Proficiency, and Social Assimilation Among US Immigrants

Abstract

Are U.S. immigrants' English proficiency and social outcomes the result of their cultural preferences, or of more fundamental constraints? Using 2000 Census microdata, we relate immigrants' English proficiency, marriage, fertility and residential location variables to their age at arrival in the U.S., and in particular whether that age fell within the "critical period" of language acquisition. We interpret the differences between younger and older arrivers as effects of English-language skills and construct an instrumental variable for English-language skills. Two-stage-least-squares estimates suggest that English proficiency increases the likelihood of divorce and intermarriage. It decreases fertility and, for some, ethnic enclave residence. (JEL J24, J12, J13, J61)The increase in immigration to the United States in recent decades, much of it from nonEnglish-speaking countries, has drawn attention to the role of English-language skills in immigrant assimilation. 1 There is evidence that English proficiency helps immigrants integrate economically into their new home-English proficiency raises wages, narrowing the wage gap between immigrants and U.S. natives. Less studied is whether sounding more "American" makes immigrants act more American as well. (Section I.A discusses the related literature.) This study addresses the connection between English proficiency and social integration.The relationship between English proficiency and social assimilation among immigrants is a controversial topic in contemporary society. A commonplace hypothesis-often stated as fact -is that these variables are interrelated solely because of the culture or preferences of the immigrants themselves; that is, they choose not to integrate into U.S. society and they choose not to learn English. On the other side of the coin is the view that poor English proficiency is a constraint that impedes assimilation. In the present study, we examine this latter channel by quantifying the impact of English proficiency on marriage, fertility and residential location choices.Understanding the effects of English proficiency on social outcomes also has important policy implications. Children of immigrants comprise a large and growing share of the U.S. population -in 2002, they made up 18.7% of the U.S. population under 18 (Randy Capps, Michael Fix and Jane Reardon-Anderson, 2003)-and their lower average education and earnings in adulthood have aroused concern. 2 Better knowledge about the family and neighborhood environment in which the children of immigrants grow up should improve our ability to design 1 The 2000 U.S. Census showed that 10.4 percent of the U.S. population is foreign born, up from 7.9 percent in 1990. Moreover, the 2000 U.S. Census also indicated that 47 million U.S. residents (age 5 and over) spoke a language other than English at home and 21 million spoke English less than fluently. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptAm Econ J Appl Econ. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 January 28. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Autho...

The Returns to Language Skills in the US Labor Market

“…Although the returns to language skills of adult migrants do not depend on education, differences in the returns to language skills between child and adult migrants are insignificant. The instrumental variable proposed in this paper permits an analysis of the effect of language skills on other relevant outcome variables beyond the group of child migrants (see Bleakley and Chin, 2010). Note: Numbers based on detailed place of birth codes provided by the ACS.…”

Effects of language proficiency on labour, social and health outcomes of immigrants in Australia

“…Since this question was only applicable to persons who speak a language other than English at home, we assume that persons who speak only English at home can speak it "very well". Thus, data was coded accordingly and handled the same way as earlier studies that used a similar question from the US census counterpart to study English proficiency such as Bleakley & Chin, 2004(2004; Bleakley & Chin, (2010);and Chiswick & Miller, (1995).…”

“…Some examples are Chiswick & Miller (1995), Angrist & Lavy (1997), Dustmann & van Soest (2002), Shields & Price (2002), Dustmann & Fabbri (2003), Bleakley & Chin (2004) and Bleakley & Chin (2010). The bias has been determined to be mainly due to measurement error, but there is also a possibility of unobserved non-language ability and reverse causality.…”

“…In the present study we implement the empirical strategy proposed by Bleakley & Chin (2004, 2010. They used the fact that the age of arrival of migrants has a critical impact on their ability to learn the new language in order to identify the effect of English proficiency on market outcomes in the USA.…”

Does Foreign Language Proficiency Foster Migration of Young Individuals within the European Union?

“…Data: Eurostat [2012a] aspects of language proficiency: its determinants and its consequences for migrants. Regarding the latter, findings by Bleakley and Chin [2010], Chiswick and Miller [2010], and Dustmann and Fabbri [2003] show that immigrants' accomplishments in a host country's labor market depend positively and to a great extent on their language skills. Regarding the determinants of language proficiency, Chiswick [2008] points out that three aspects: (i) exposure (not being married before migration, not living in an enclave), (ii) efficiency (young age, higher education), and (iii) economic incentives (length of expected stay) positively influence the likelihood that an immigrant acquires proficiency in the host country's language.…”