This study quantifies the disadvantage in the formation of literacy skills of immigrants that arises from the linguistic distance between mother tongue and host country language. Combining unique cross-country data on literacy scores with information on the linguistic distance between languages,...

This paper analyzes the interaction between migrant networks and linguistic distance in the location choice of migrants to the EU at the regional level. We test the hypothesis that networks and the ability to communicate in the host country language, proxied by linguistic distance, are...

This chapter examines how cultural similarities (or differences) represented by common language roots affect economic activities. When individuals share some common linguistic repertoires, they are more inclined to develop commercial relationships and conduct business transactions than in the...