English as the lingua franca and the economic value of other languages: The case of the language of work in the Montreal labor market
Authors: Gilles Grenier and Serge Nadeau
Editors: Michele Gazzola and Bengt-Arne Wickström
Overview
Abstract (English)
Book summary: In an era of globalization, issues of language diversity have economic and political implications. Transnational labor mobility, trade, social inclusion of migrants, democracy in multilingual countries, and companies’ international competitiveness all have a linguistic dimension; yet economists in general do not include language as a variable in their research. This volume demonstrates that the application of rigorous economic theories and research methods to issues of language policy yields valuable insights. The contributors offer both theoretical and empirical analyses of such topics as the impact of language diversity on economic outcomes, the distributive effects of policy regarding official languages, the individual welfare consequences of bilingualism, and the link between language and national identity. Their research is based on data from countries including Canada, India, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia and from the regions of Central America, Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Theoretical models are explained intuitively for the nonspecialist. The relationships among linguistic variables, inequality, and the economy are approached from different perspectives, including economics, sociolinguistics, and political science. For this reason, the book offers a substantive contribution to interdisciplinary work on languages in society and language policy, proposing a common framework for a shared research area.
Abstract (French)
Please note that abstracts only appear in the language of the publication and might not have a translation.
Details
Type | Book chapter |
---|---|
Author | Gilles Grenier and Serge Nadeau |
Editor | Michele Gazzola and Bengt-Arne Wickström |
Publication Year | 2016 |
Book Title | The Economics of Language Policy |
Chapter Title | English as the lingua franca and the economic value of other languages: The case of the language of work in the Montreal labor market |
Pages | 267-312 |
Publisher | MIT Press |
City | Cambridge, MA |
Publication Language | English |
- Gilles Grenier
- Gilles Grenier and Serge Nadeau
- English as the lingua franca and the economic value of other languages: The case of the language of work in the Montreal labor market
- 2016
- The Economics of Language Policy
- Michele Gazzola and Bengt-Arne Wickström
- 267-312
- Cambridge, MA
- MIT Press