Ludovica Giua (University of Cagliari)
This paper investigates the causal effect of language assimilation on the cultural identity and educational aspirations of teenagers using a well-established instrumental-variable strategy based on age at migration and linguistic proximity between origin and host languages. While the instrument significantly reduces language fluency scores for both boys and girls, I find that language skills do not affect cultural identity nor educational aspirations outcomes for girls. In contrast, boys exhibit a lower probability of feeling like foreigners and a higher likelihood of wanting to live in the host country in adulthood, as well as an increased desire to pursue further education.