Frisch seminar: Dan-Olof Rooth

Language skills and hiring: The causal return to host country language skills for immigrants

Zoom -> https://frisch-no.zoom.us/j/64318637020?pwd=ajlhRjZhbXBYamFGczM0cFZkeFZFUT09

Abstract: Previous research has documented a positive correlation between skills in the host country’s language and key labor markets outcomes of immigrants, suggesting that language skills are important for their labor market performance. However, due to potential biases caused by omitted variables, reverse causality and measurement error in language skills, it remains largely unresolved whether the correlation has a causal interpretation and how strong the potential effect is. We address these issues by conducting a large-scale field experiment in the Swedish labor market in which we study how language skills affect the probability of obtaining a callback for a job interview after having applied to a job vacancy. We theoretically manipulate the language level of fictitious job applications using a professional linguist to introduce common second-language errors. Our results show that better language skills have a strong positive effect on the share of positive responses for labor migrants, even within low-skilled jobs, but less so for refugee migrants. A survey on employers  confirm the demand for good Swedish for all jobs irrespective of their skill level.

Published Jan. 27, 2022 2:24 PM - Last modified Apr. 17, 2022 9:01 PM