Ethnic Differences in Labour Market Outcomes. The Role of Language-Based Discrimination.

Autor/in	Schmaus, Miriam
Titel	Ethnic Differences in Labour Market Outcomes. The Role of Language-Based Discrimination. Gefälligkeitsübersetzung: Ethnische Unterschiede beim Berufserfolg - die Rolle sprachbasierter Diskriminierung.
Quelle	In: European sociological review, 36 (2020) 1, S. 82-103Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0266-7215; 1468-2672
DOI	10.1093/esr/jcz044
Schlagwörter	Bildungsertrag; Fremdsprachenkenntnisse; Diskriminierung; Produktivitätseffekt; Berufliche Integration; Auswirkung; Ethnische Gruppe; Arbeitnehmer; Ausländer; NEPS (National Educational Panel Study)
Abstract	"Host country language proficiency has been shown to account for ethnic differences in labour market outcomes. Prior studies generally assume that language skills represent a form of human capital, affecting employees' productivity. However, language proficiency may also be associated with discrimination. Lower language proficiency may elicit distaste for certain ethnic groups, as it is a prominent reminder of the respective origin. When this reminder vanishes as language skills rise, group-specific distaste should also reduce. Employers may thus not only value language skills in terms of productivity but also factor in less group-specific distaste when evaluating immigrant jobseekers with high-language skills. Moreover, if employers lack information on competences that are hard to observe, high-language proficiency may prevent the application of adverse ethnic beliefs. Using data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), I examine whether language skills affect crucial indicators of labour market success differently for groups that vary with respect to the level of distaste associated with them. I also investigate whether this effect is conditional on the amount of information available to employers. Findings indicate group-specific returns to higher-language proficiency, irrespective of the available information. This might suggest that, in addition to affecting employees' productivity, language proficiency may also be associated with taste discrimination for certain ethnic groups." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku).
Erfasst von	Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Nürnberg
Update	2020/3