Language Skills and Stock Market Participation: Evidence From Immigrants
研究英语水平如何影响美国与澳大利亚移民的股市参与，利用儿童语言习得年龄差异构建工具变量，发现英语熟练度显著提升股票持有率，机制是降低信息成本与增强信任。
Abstract Do language skills affect investment decisions? This article addresses this question by identifying the effect of English proficiency on the stock market participation of immigrants in the United States and Australia. To establish causality, we construct an instrumental variable for English proficiency by exploiting the phenomenon that younger children acquire languages more easily than older children. We find that English proficiency has a significant positive effect on stock ownership among immigrants in both countries. Moreover, we provide evidence that a reduction in information costs and an increase in trust may serve as the mechanisms underlying the language ability effect.