Immigrant Adjustment in Israel: Literacy and Fluency in Hebrew and Earnings (original) (raw)
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Hebrew language usage: determinants and effects on earnings among immigrants in Israel
Journal of Population Economics, 1998
This paper uses the 1983 Census of Israel to analyze Hebrew speaking skills and the effects of Hebrew fluency on the earnings of adult male immigrants. Hebrew fluency increases with a longer duration in Israel, the presence of children in the household, marrying after immigration, living in an area in which a smaller proportion speak one's mother tongue, a younger age at migration, a higher level of schooling and varies by country of birth. Earnings increase monotonically with the use of Hebrew. Speaking English as a second language is associated with higher earnings, even when country of origin is held constant.
International Migration, 2020
This article analyses the Hebrew language proficiency, probability of employment, and labour market earnings of immigrants in Israel. It uses the 2010/11 Immigrant Absorption Survey conducted by the Israeli CBS. In addition to standard immigration, demographic, and human capital variables, the analysis includes unique features: the study of long-duration immigrants, analyses of males' and females' primary reasons for immigration, the subsidized intensive Hebrew language training programme, Ethiopian Jews, and Jewish and non-Jewish immigrants from the Former Soviet Union. Results from multivariate analyses largely accord with the "standard theoretical model" of language proficiency regarding the mechanisms of "exposure", "efficiency", and "economic incentives". Acquaintance with the local language increases the likelihood of being employed and has positive earnings outcomes. We discuss implications of the findings for public policy which can improve the adjustment of these new immigrants to their new society, hence also moderate inter-group tensions.
Linguistic and Economic Adjustment Among Immigrants in Israel
Social Science Research Network, 2016
Linguistic and Economic Adjustment among Immigrants in Israel * This paper analyzes the Hebrew language proficiency, probability of employment, and labor market earnings of immigrants in Israel. It uses the 2010/11 Immigrant Absorption Survey conducted by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. Unique features of the analysis include the study of long-duration immigrants (3 to 20 years), and analyses for: males and females, primary reasons for immigration, the subsidized intensive Hebrew language training program (ulpan), Ethiopian Jews, and Jewish and non-Jewish immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU), in addition to standard immigration, demographic, and human capital variables. Results from multivariate analyses largely accord with the "standard theoretical model" of language proficiency regarding the mechanisms of "exposure", "efficiency", and "economic incentives". Acquaintance with the local language, on its part, increases the likelihood of being employed, and it has positive earnings outcomes. We discuss implications of the findings for public policy which can improve the adjustment of these new immigrants into their new society hence also moderate inter-group tensions.
International Migration, 2001
This article is concerned with identifying, for the first time, the separate effects of linguistic distance (language of origin) and country of origin on the destination language proficiency of immigrants. The determinants of Hebrew language proficiency (fluency and literacy) among immigrants in Israel are studied using the 1972 Census of Israel and the Immigration Absorption (panel) Surveys conducted in the 1970s.
2012
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Difficulties Linked to Hebrew Language among Immigrants in Israel
The present study examines language barriers experienced by Ethiopian women in Netanya, Israel. It aims at providing data on both the existing literature on the subject as well as on empirical results based on answers to a questionnaire. In particular, this paper looks into the difficulties linked to the Hebrew language with regard to the integration of these women, which is regarded as a hindrance towards a better and thorough integration in the city of Netanya. This language barrier affects all aspects of their daily life particularly in the fields of education and employment. This investigation into language barriers is seen through the eyes of one Ethiopian woman within her three-generation family. In addition to the disadvantage linked to language, this survey points out the discrimination which this minority population faces, especially women.
The Labour Market Absorption of CIS Immigrants to Israel: 1989-1994
International Migration, 1997
The labour market absorption in the 1990s of some 600,000 immigrants from the ex-USSR has, on the whole, been a major success. The rate of unemployment among immigrants who came in 1990 has converged on the rate of unemployment for native Israelis. However, concern has been focused on the low rates of occupational retention and the waste of human capital that this implies. We use three micro data sets to investigate the absorption dynamics of CIS immigrants in the Israeli labour market in the 1990s.
The Absorption of Highly Skilled Immigrants: Israel, 1990-1995
1998
This paper develops a descriptive methodology for the analysis of wage growth of immigrants, based on human capital theory. The sources of the wage growth are: (i) the rise of the return to imported human capital; (ii) the impact of accumulated experience in the host country; and, (iii) the mobility up the occupational ladder in the host country. Using human capital theory, we derive a non-linear model that imposes restrictions across the earning equations of natives and immigrants. The two earning functions are estimated jointly, using repeated cross section data. Using data on immigrants from the former Soviet Union to Israel, we find: Upon arrival, immigrants receive no return for imported skills. In the five years following arrival, wages of highly skilled immigrants grow at 8.1% a year. Rising prices of skills, occupational transitions, accumulated experience in Israel and economy-wide rise in wages account for 4.4, 1.4, 1.3 and 1.1 percent each. In the long run, the return for schooling converges to 0.03, substantially below the .073 for natives. We do not reject the hypothesis that the return for experience converges to that of natives, and immigrants receive higher return for their unmeasured skills. We find that the occupational distribution of immigrants converges to that of natives, however, the average wages of immigrants approach but do not converge to the wages of comparable natives. The main reason for that is the low return to their imported skills.
Finding an Adequate Job: Employment and Income of Recent Immigrants to Israel
International Migration, 2003
ABSTRACT The study examines the early market experience of recent immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union (FSU) and their mobility patterns a few years after migration. The Labour Utilization Framework, proposed by Clogg and Sullivan (1983), was analysed to identify the employment difficulties immigrants experienced upon arrival, their short-term mobility in the labour market, and the income consequences of their disadvantaged position in the market. Using a panel study of immigrants who arrived in Israel during 1990, we found that although most of them found employment, only a minority did not experience employment hardships. Four years after their arrival, most immigrants were still employed in occupations for which they were over-qualified, and only a small portion of the group managed to find adequate employment. Women had more severe employment hardships and a lower rate of mobility into the better positions. For men and women alike, almost any deviation from a stable adequate employment entailed wage penalties.