Language in the Labor Market: Evidence from Chinese Immigrant-Owned Enterprises in Congo Brazzaville

Abstract

This study uses data from Centre of Research and Prospective Studies (CREP) to analyze the determinants of French language proficiency and investigates how the language barrier influences economic activities of Chinese immigrant-owned enterprises in Congo Brazzaville. The first part presents an ordered logit analysis of the determinants of Chinese entrepreneurs speaking and reading fluency. The results show that an increase in educational attainment is associated with a higher level of french spoken and read proficiency. Language ability is also associated with those who have been living in Congo for a longer time period and those who migrated at a younger age. In the second part, the effect of language on the migrant’s economic activities is analyzed, it is shown that language barrier is a critical handicap not only between customers and Chinese entrepreneurs but also to Congolese employee collaborator.