Università della Svizzera italiana

What drives the substitutability between native and foreign workers? : evidence about the role of language

Gentili, Elena ; Mazzonna, Fabrizio

This paper investigates the role of language in determining the degree of substitutability between foreign and native workers. To this end, we focus on Switzerland, an immigration-receiving country with four official languages spoken, three of which in common with bordering countries. We modify the model proposed by Ottaviano and Peri (2012) to account for the linguistic background of native...