ABSTRACT

We analyze the 2007 European financial crisis' impact on the demand for new language skills. The crisis affected German-speaking regions less. Learning German became relatively more attractive for migration and trade. We construct a sub-national database for German as a foreign language exam (TestDaF) participation rates between 2001–2013 and define regional crisis indicators. Using a multiple-group, multiple-period difference-in-differences framework with propensity score matching, we find that TestDaF participation increased significantly in crisis-affected regions, driven by youth and severely-affected Hellenic and Latin linguistic regions.

摘要

我们分析了 2007 年欧洲金融危机对新语言技能需求的影响。危机对德语地区的影响较小。学习德语对移民和贸易变得相对更具吸引力。我们为 2001-2013 年间德语作为外语考试 (TestDaF) 的参与率构建了一个地方数据库，并定义了区域危机指标。使用具有倾向得分匹配的多组、多时期差异框架，我们发现受危机影响地区的 TestDaF 参与显着增加，受青年和受严重影响的希腊和拉丁语言地区的推动。