Are encalves amenities? An empricial investigation in the Southwest United States.

Abstract

The role of linguistic enclaves in wage determination is investigated for immigrants and non-immigrants. It is hypothesized that enclaves could affect wages positively as an aid to immigrant adjustment, or negatively as an amenity that minority language speakers are willing to pay for, or both. The results suggest that enclaves in the Southwest U.S. primarily operate as an aid to immigrant adjustment.