Language and public/private sector wage differentials in Canada: a sample selection approach

Because economic power is concentrated in the hands of Anglophones, and because English is the predominant language of the Canadian workplace, there is speculation that there may be differentials in earnings between Anglophones and other linguistic groups. In addition to this, there is evidence that government sector workers enjoy a wage premium over private sector workers. It is the purpose of this thesis to identify this and other sources of wage differentials between language groups in Canada with emphasis on returns to language skills. Results reveal a large sectoral difference in monetary returns to language skills. That is, the public sector is found to reward bilingualism, while the private sector does not. Furthermore, in the public sector, learning French as a second language yields greater returns than does learning English as a second language. In the private sector there is a clear advantage to learning English as a second language. In addition to this, strong regional differences are found. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)