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The bilingual gap in children's language, emotional, and pro-social development

Author

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  • Cobb-Clark Deborah A.

    (University of Sydney, School of Economics, Faculty of Art and Social Science, Australia)

  • Harmon Colm

    (University of Sydney, School of Economics, Faculty of Art and Social Science, Australia)

  • Staneva Anita

    (University of Sydney, School of Economics, Faculty of Art and Social Science, Australia)

Abstract

In this paper we examine whether – conditional on other child endowments and family inputs – bilingual children achieve different language, emotional, and pro-social developmental outcomes. Our data, which allow us to analyze children's development in a dynamic framework, are extracted from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). We model the development production functions for bilingual children using cumulative value-added specifications, which account for parental investments and children's own ability. Analysis based on child age confirms that bilingual children initially have worse language skills than their monolingual peers. The commencement of schooling appears to attenuate these differences, and by age seven, bilingual children have a developmental advantage. We find evidence of a positive relationship between bilingualism and some aspects of emotional development, and it is mainly boys who appear to benefit from their bilingual background.

Suggested Citation

  • Cobb-Clark Deborah A. & Harmon Colm & Staneva Anita, 2021. "The bilingual gap in children's language, emotional, and pro-social development," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-41, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:izajle:v:10:y:2021:i:1:p:41:n:1
    DOI: 10.2478/izajole-2021-0001
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cognitive and non-cognitive skills; production function; value-added model; cohort studies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General

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