July 2016

IZA Policy Paper No. 113: "Tongue Tide": The Economics of Language Offers Important Lessons for How Europe Can Best Integrate Migrants

forthcoming in: Finance and Development

This policy analysis discusses issues regarding the migration to Europe of large numbers of immigrants and refugees who, on arrival, do not know their host country's language. It reviews problems of economic integration into the labor market, the consequences of the formation of immigrant enclaves divorced from the host country labor market, and considers public policies to facilitate their linguistic and economic integration.