Parental education and family characteristics: educational opportunities across cohorts in Italy and Spain

Drawing on data contained in the 2005 EU-SILC, this paper investigates the disparities in educational opportunities in Italy and Spain. Its main objective is to analyse the predicted probabilities of successfully completing upper-secondary and tertiary education for individuals with different parental backgrounds, and the changes in these probabilities across birth cohorts extending from 1940 to 1980. The results suggest that the disparities in tertiary education opportunities in Italy tend to increase over time. By contrast, the gap in educational opportunity in Spain shows a marked decrease across the cohorts. Moreover, by using an intuitive decomposition strategy, the paper shows that a large part of the educational gap between individuals of different backgrounds is “composed” of the difference in the endowment of family characteristics. Specifically, it seems that more highly educated parents are more able to endow their children with a better composition of family characteristics, which accounts for a significant proportion of the disparities in educational opportunity.Educational Opportunity, Family Background, Birth cohorts, Italy, Spain

Knowledge of catalan, public/prívate sector choice and earnings: Evidence from a double sample selection model

This paper explores the earnings return to Catalan knowledge for public and private workers in Catalonia. In doing so, we allow for a double simultaneous selection process. We consider, on the one hand, the non-random allocation of workers into one sector or another, and on the other, the potential self-selection into Catalan proficiency. In addition, when correcting the earnings equations, we control for the correlation between the two selectivity rules. Our findings suggest that the apparent higher language return for public sector workers is entirely accounted for by selection effects, whereas knowledge of Catalan has a significant positive return in the private sector, which is somewhat higher when the selection processes are taken into account.Language, Sector Choice, Earnings, Simultaneous Selection, Catalonia.

Language knowledge and earnings in Catalonia

This paper investigates the economic value of Catalan knowledge for national and foreign first- and second-generation immigrants in Catalonia. Specifically, drawing on data from the “Survey on Living Conditions and Habits of the Catalan Population (2006)”, we want to quantify the expected earnings differential between individuals who are proficient in Catalan and those who are not, taking into account the potential endogeneity between knowledge of Catalan and earnings. The results indicate the existence of a positive return to knowledge of Catalan, with a 7.5% increase in earnings estimated by OLS; however, when we account for the presence of endogeneity, monthly earnings are around 18% higher for individuals who are able to speak and write Catalan. However, we also find that language and education are complementary inputs for generating earnings in Catalonia, given that knowledge of Catalan increases monthly earnings only for more educated individuals.Language, Earnings, Immigrants, Endogeneity, Complementarity

Language knowledge and earnings in Catalonia

In this paper we are aimed to investigate the relationship between Catalan knowledge and individual earnings in Catalonia. Using data from 2006, we find a positive earning return to Catalan proficiency; however, when accounting for self-selection into Catalan knowledge, we find a higher language return (20% of extra earnings), suggesting that individuals who are more prone to know Catalan are also less remunerated than others (negative selection effect). Moreover, we also find important complementarities between language knowledge and completed education, which means that only more educated individuals benefit from Catalan knowledge.Language, Earnings, Self-Selection, Skill-Complementarity, Catalonia

Knowledge of catalan, public/private sector choice and earnings: Evidence from a double sample selection model

This paper explores the earnings return to Catalan knowledge for public and private workers in Catalonia. In doing so, we allow for a double simultaneous selection process. We consider, on the one hand, the non-random allocation of workers into one sector or another, and on the other, the potential self-selection into Catalan proficiency. In addition, when correcting the earnings equations, we control for the correlation between the two selectivity rules. Our findings suggest that the apparent higher language return for public sector workers is entirely accounted for by selection effects, whereas knowledge of Catalan has a significant positive return in the private sector, which is somewhat higher when the selection processes are taken into account

Els determinants del coneixement lingüístic de la població immigrada: una aproximació economètrica aplicada al cas del català

En aquest article s’analitza el procés d’aprenentatge lingüístic dels nouvinguts, fent servir un model economètric que permet considerar a nivell empíric l’efecte dels tres elements claus per a l’aprenentatge lingüístic, segons una perspectiva econòmica: l’exposició a la llengua, la intensitat de l’exposició i l’eficiència en l’aprenentatge lingüístic. Els resultats confirmen les indicacions teòriques, posant també en rellevància el rol del nivell d’instrucció en explicar les diferències en les trajectòries d’aprenentatge de la llengua catalana

The Evaluation of Language Regimes: Theory and Application to Multilingual Patent Organizations [Ressenya de llibre]

Ressenya de: Gazzola, Michele. The Evaluation of Language Regimes: Theory and Application to Multilingual Patent Organizations, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 201

Gazzola, Michele. «The Evaluation of Language Regimes: Theory and Application to Multilingual Patent Organizations»

Aquest llibre se centra en l’anàlisi de les polítiques lingüístiques segons l’enfocament de l’anàlisi econòmica de polítiques públiques i, més en general, de l’economia del benestar. L’autor presenta, en primer lloc, els conceptes teòrics i metodològics generals, per després il·lustrar dues aplicacions concretes d’avaluació de l’eficiència i de l’equitat de les reformes en la gestió del multilingüisme en les organitzacions internacionals de gestió de patents (l’Organització Mundial de la Propietat Intel·lectual, WIPO, i l’Oficina Europea de Patents, EPO).

Exploring educational mobility in Europe

This paper is concerned with the investigation of the intergenerational mobility of education in several European countries and its changes across birth cohorts (1940-1980) using a new mobility index that considers the total degree of mobility as the weighted sum of mobility with respect to both parents. Moreover, this mobility index enables the analysis of the role of family characteristics as mediating factors in the statistical association between individual and parental education. We find that Nordic countries display lower levels of educational persistence but that the degree of mobility increases over time only in those countries with low initial levels. Moreover, the results suggest that the degree of mobility with respect to fathers and mothers converges to the same level and that family characteristics account for an important part of the statistical association between parental education and children’s schooling; a particular finding is that the most important elements of family characteristics are the family’s socio-economic status and educational assortative mating of the parents.Educational Economics, Intergenerational Mobility, Europe, Birth Cohorts, Family

Knowledge of Catalan, public/private sector choice and earnings: Evidence from a double sample selection model

This paper explores the earnings return to Catalan knowledge for public and private workers in Catalonia. In doing so, we allow for a double simultaneous selection process. We consider, on the one hand, the non-random allocation of workers into one sector or another, and on the other, the potential self-selection into Catalan proficiency. In addition, when correcting the earnings equations, we take into account the correlation between the two selectivity rules. Our findings suggest that the apparent higher language return for public sector workers is entirely accounted for by selection effects, whereas knowledge of Catalan has a significant positive return in the private sector, which is somewhat higher when the selection processes are taken into account.Language, Sector Choice, Earnings, Simultaneous Selection, Catalonia