Does Ease of Communication Increase Trade? Commonality of Language and Bilateral Trade

Gravity model explanations of trade volumes frequently include dummy variables to account for the commonality of language among trading partners. In this paper we use a data set for the number of people in a country who speak English as a first language or English as a second language (Crystal, 1997) as an indicator of the ease with which trade with the United States occurs. Controlling for commodity fixed effects we use SITC three digit industry data centred on 1995 United States bilateral trade with 33 countries to determine the effect of the degree of language commonality on bilateral trade. Both English as a first language and English as a second language are found to be less important for exports than for imports. This is true for all three digit industries as well as when the specific industry groups identified in Rauch (1999) are considered.     

Do Enclaves Help or Hinder the American Dream?

A sizable proportion of United States Hispanics live in segregated communities. The rising Hispanic population in the United States and the negative association of enclave-residence with earnings have given rise to the concern that a large part of the current and future labor force, native and immigrant Hispanics, may struggle to improve social mobility and integration into the mainstream United States population. However, the causal effect of enclave-residence on earnings of Hispanics in the United States remains an open question given that previous studies have not addressed the non-random distribution of individuals into and out of enclaves. Using a longitudinal data set I address the non-random location decision of individuals to identify a causal link between enclave-residence and earnings of Hispanics. I find a much larger negative impact of enclave-residence on earnings than previous studies. However, the results also show that enclave-residence is associated with longer durations of employment. Second generation immigrant Hispanics appear to be immune from the wage penalty that is associated with enclaves.     

整体语言教学模式在基础英语教学中的应用策略分析

现代素质教育要求优化基础英语教学的教学模式,这为改革传统基础英语教学手段提供了机遇。本文根据国外关于整体语言教学理论的最新研究成果,结合我国基础英语教育的现状,分析了该理论在我国基础英语教学中的应用策略,以期引起基础英语教育研究者和改革者的共鸣。     

The English Language Fluency And Earnings Of Ethnic Minorities In Britain

This study addresses two issues. First it estimates how much of the male and female ethnic earnings gap is the result of an advantage in the English language and whether there is an earnings penalty to non–whites, over and above this. Lack of fluency is shown to have a highly significant impact on the earnings of ethnic minorities in Britain, although the language penalty is much greater for women than it is for men. Moreover, only foreign born non–white males that have arrived in Britain between 1970 and 1994, exhibit lower earnings once language fluency is taken into consideration, whilst British born females exhibit higher earnings. So the evidence here suggests that non–white earnings are assimilating towards those of whites and that lower female non–white earnings are a direct result of a lack of fluency rather than ethnicity. Secondly, the study will try to measure any endogenous bias associated with the non–fluency earnings penalty. Controlling for the endogeneity between language fluency and earnings is shown to be problematic. Estimates suggest that single equation earnings functions slightly underestimate the true language fluency penalty for males, and slightly overestimate the fluency penalty for females. Finally, education and fluency are not surprisingly shown to be complementary.     

英语专业生写作的语篇隐喻能力调查研究

隐喻性语言的理解、构建及输出均已成为英语学习者写作的一大难题。从语篇层面调查英语专业生写作的隐喻能力状况及英语写作水平与语篇隐喻能力关系。研究结果显示语篇隐喻能力很大程度上影响了写作者概念流利性表达,尽管英语写作者试图从语篇层面使用隐喻性语言,但他们仍难以达到本族语者的语言熟练程度,除非他们能将隐喻思维概念化。因此,英语写作教学中应重视写作语篇隐喻能力的培养。     

IS HISPANIC POPULATION DISPERSION INTO RURAL COUNTIES CONTRIBUTING TO LOCAL ECONOMIC GROWTH?

In the 1990s, rural counties in the United States, which had been losing population, became the destinations for an increasing number of Hispanics, slowing and in some cases reversing population declines. In this paper, we examine whether faster growth in the Hispanic population is linked to faster growth in income per capita in rural counties. Our results indicate strong support for the hypothesis that population growth caused by the increase in Hispanics, whether from international immigrants, migrants from within the United States, or from natural growth in families, has fueled increased economic growth in those small, rural communities whose populations had been in decline during the 1970s or the 1980s. (JEL J15, J61, R11)     

LANGUAGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS ESTIMATION: EVIDENCE FROM A MAIL SURVEY

In contingent valuation studies, failing to accommodate populations with limited language skills might yield biased estimates. In the United States, there are many residents primarily fluent in Spanish. This study uses conditional logit models applied to data from a bilingual (English and Spanish) conjoint choice mail survey to evaluate the effects of language proficiency on estimates of the economic benefits of contaminated site cleanup. Results indicate that language does have significant effects on welfare estimates. The results suggest that mail surveys addressing environmental issues that may affect a linguistically diverse population should be designed at the outset with multiple languages in mind. ( JEL Q51, J19)     

商务英语听力教学中的语块研究

如何提高商务英语听力水平一直是困扰大学英语教师的难题。从组块视角研究语块与商务英语听力之间的关联性无疑具有行业领先性。语块的有效记忆与应用将有助于提高学习者听力理解的流利度与正确度,减少学生听力理解过程中处理信息所耗费的资源,减轻大脑短时记忆负荷,加快解码速度,从而大幅提升商务英语听力的效率和效力。     

English Proficiency and Earnings of Foreign-Born Immigrants in the USA from 1980 to 2000: The Effect of Minority-Language Enclaves

This paper compares the importance of English proficiency (EP) on earnings among the foreign-born immigrants from 1980 to 2000 and shows its importance varied over time. The key issue examined is changes in the impact of being in a minority-language enclave and its interactions with the return to EP. Results show that the negative effects of enclaves were the greatest in 1990 and such effects were significantly stronger among those fluent English speakers. The relationship between EP and the enclave effects is explored, which confirms their strong interaction in 1990. However, the evidence of fluent speakers' large migrations from enclaves between 1990 and 2000 is not strong, as of the 24 foreign language groups, 13 showed decreases in fluency in enclaves relative to non-enclaves, while 11 showed increases in fluency in enclaves relative to non-enclaves. This may relate to non-wage benefits of living in enclaves, such as social benefits.     

Understanding the Remittance Gender Gap among Hispanics in the US: Gendered Norms and the Role of Expectations

Using the 2006 Latino National Survey (LNS), this study analyzes the existence of a gender gap in favor of men in the monetary remittance behavior of Hispanics residing in the United States. Findings indicate that cultural gender norms and expectations in the country of origin play a key role. The study shows that women migrants are less likely to remit than men and, when they do, they transfer smaller amounts. The remittance gender gap is not universal among subgroups, since it is only observable among Hispanics who came to the US to improve their economic situation, plan to return to their home country, and have low income and low schooling. An index on migrants’ perceptions of gender roles as a proxy for cultural gendered norms is constructed and shows that more traditional gender views are associated with a significant gender gap in favor of men in remittances.     

The acquisition and labor market value of four English skills: new evidence from NALS

This study investigates the factors related to proficiency in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing English among immigrants using data from the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS). It also investigates the earnings-English relationship for each of these four skills to establish which is more valuable in the labor market. English as a Second Language (ESL) courses, education, and years in the United States are found especially to affect English proficiency. Furthermore, the returns on oral proficiency are greater than the returns on literacy skills, although writing skills are more valuable than reading skills. The study concludes that English acquisition is a dynamic process, rather than static as argued by supporters of English-only legislation. An increased role for ESL courses in the acquisition of English is suggested as an alternative policy to English-only laws as long as the marginal cost is less than the marginal benefit.     

What Holds Back the Second Generation? The Intergenerational Transmission of Language Human Capital Among Immigrants

In 2000 Census microdata, various outcomes of second-generation immigrants are related to their parents' age at arrival to the United States, and in particular whether that age fell within the "critical period" of language acquisition. We interpret this as an effect of the parent's English-language skills and construct an instrumental variable for parental English proficiency. Estimates of the effect of parent's English-speaking proficiency using two-stage least squares yield significant, positive results for children's English-speaking proficiency and preschool attendance, and significant, negative results for dropping out of high school and being below age-appropriate grade. (JEL J13, J24, J62).     

A Comparison of Household Recycling Behaviors in Norway and the United States

This paper investigates empirically the determinants of household recycling in Norway and compares the results with a similar, recently published, study of households in the United States. The comparison focuses on the relative importance of user fees on waste disposal, community recycling programs, and socioeconomic factors. Both data sources are nationwide, material-specific, and at the household level. One major finding is that a disposal fee provides a significant economic incentive to Norwegian households, whereas its effectiveness in the United States is still up for debate. Providing households with convenient recycling options, such as curbside and drop-off recycling, appears generally effective, but less so in Norway than in the United States. Socioeconomic characteristics are less important predictors of behavior in Norway than in the United States. Qualifications on the comparison are provided throughout and two extensions for future research are suggested at the end.     

Transition programs for internationally educated nurses: what can the United States learn from the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada?

It is critical to conduct competency assessments of internationally educated nurses (IENs) to ensure public safety, as well as uphold accountability to nursing as a regulated profession. Transition programs are needed because of the required proficiency of the working language, as well as differences in nursing education, national health care systems, nursing practice and culture, etc. Transition programs in the United States are grossly under-developed because of lack of recognition of their importance, lack of funding and standardization, and decentralized regulation in nursing. United States can learn from the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada regarding how to best transition IENs. Its current hit-and-miss approach is inadequate and inconsistent with the emerging global trend to systematically deal with the transitional challenges of IENs at the national level.     

Public infrastructure provision and ethnic favouritism: Evidence from South Africa

Does coethnicity with the President affect public infrastructure provision in South Africa? Using municipal-level data for 52 district municipalities from 1996 to 2016, we find that municipalities coethnic with the President are associated with higher water infrastructure provision relative to non-coethnic municipalities. Taking into account various political considerations, results show that ethnic favouritism occurs due to ethnic altruism. Our findings remain robust to different specifications of coethnicity thresholds and are applicable to electricity infrastructure provision. Results suggest that in order to minimise ethnic favouritism, politically independent institutions should oversee the allocation of funding and provision of infrastructure.     

HEALTHY MINDS IN HEALTHY BODIES: AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON OF EDUCATION-RELATED INEQUALITY IN PHYSICAL HEALTH AMONG OLDER ADULTS

We study education-related inequality in the physical health of older adults across 11 European countries and the United States. Combining the data from Health and Retirement Study 2002, the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing 2002 and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe 2004, our results suggest that education is strongly correlated with health both across and within countries. Education-related inequality in health is larger in Mediterranean and Anglo-Saxon countries than in western European countries. We find no evidence of a trade-off between health levels and equity in health. Education-related inequality in health is hardly driven by income or wealth effects (except in the United States), and differences in health behaviours (smoking) by education level contribute little to health differences across education groups.     

Trade liberalization,consumption shifting and pollution: Evidence from Mexico's used vehicle imports

This paper develops a model of used vehicle trade between the United States and Mexico, countries with different environmental regulations regarding vehicle emissions. We demonstrate that the United States, with its strict environmental regulations, has a motive to export used vehicles to Mexico, which impacts air pollution emissions from vehicle driving in Mexico. Using unique data on the import and registration of vehicles in Mexico after NAFTA, we find that Mexico's used vehicle imports reduce pollution emissions generated from vehicle driving mainly because of the technique effect, that is, model–age‐comparable vehicles imported from the United States emit less than those originally operated in Mexico.     

The world's greatest debtor nation?

The widely repeated assertion that the United States has become “the world's greatest debtor nation” is based on reports of its “net international investment position.” This position relates not exclusively to debt but rather to the difference between net United States claims to foreign assets and net foreign claims to United States assets. Major portions are equities and direct investment, the latter valued at “book” or original cost.Estimates of the current value of direct investment, either market value on the basis of share prices or replacement cost, effect huge asymmetric adjustments. As United States direct investment abroad is generally much older, it has appreciated much more than foreign direct investment in the United States. With adjustments as well for the market value of gold and for bad debts, it is estimated that the United States net international investment position was more or less in balance at the end of 1987 and in only relatively small deficit at the end of 1988.     

Where do the new U.S. immigrants live?

"Analyzing the location choices of the post-1964 U.S. immigrants results in three main findings: (1) these immigrants are more geographically concentrated than natives of the same age and ethnicity and reside in cities with large ethnic populations; (2) education plays a key role in location choice, reducing geographic concentration and the likelihood of being in cities with a high concentration of fellow countrymen and increasing the probability of changing locations after arrival in the United States; (3) internal migration within the United States occurs more frequently among immigrants than natives and facilitates the process of assimilation for the more educated individuals."     

How Hungry is the Selfish Gene?

We examine resource allocation in step-households in the United States and South Africa to test whether child investments vary according to economic and genetic bonds between parent and child. In the United States, households spend less on food when a child is raised by a non-biological mother. The reduction is identical for step, adoptive, and foster households, consistent with the hypothesis that genetic ties are the ones that binds. In South Africa, where food spending can be disaggregated, households spend less on milk, fruit and vegetables, and more on tobacco and alcohol, in the absence of a child's birth mother.