Age at Arrival, English Proficiency, and Social Assimilation among US Immigrants
Hoyt Bleakley and Aimee Chin
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| Article 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.2.1.165
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| 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)
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| Authors |
Bleakley, Hoyt (U Chicago)
Chin, Aimee (U Houston)
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| JEL Classifications |
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
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