American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Age at Arrival, English Proficiency, and Social Assimilation among US Immigrants
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
(pp. 165–92)
Abstract
Are the English proficiency and social outcomes of US immigrants the result of their cultural preferences or of more fundamental constraints? Using 2000 census microdata, we relate the English proficiency, marriage, fertility, and residential location variables of immigrants to their age at the time of arrival in the United States, 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 English proficiency increases the likelihood of divorce and intermarriage. It decreases fertility and, for some, ethnic enclave residence. (JEL J11, J13, J61, R23, Z13)Citation
Bleakley, Hoyt, and Aimee Chin. 2010. "Age at Arrival, English Proficiency, and Social Assimilation among US Immigrants." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 2 (1): 165–92. DOI: 10.1257/app.2.1.165Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J11 Demographic Trends and Forecasts; General Migration
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J61 Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
- R23 Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Social and Economic Stratification