LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AND MIGRANT LABOUR MARKET INTEGRATION: A BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW OF RESEARCH TRENDS (2000–2024)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v23.n4.4178Keywords:
Bibliometric Analysis, Human Capital, Language Proficiency, Migrant Labour Market IntegrationAbstract
Language proficiency is widely recognised as a key determinant of migrant labour market integration, yet its meaning and value vary across disciplinary, institutional, and geographical contexts. This study presents a bibliometric and qualitative synthesis of 381 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2024 that examine language proficiency and migrant labour market outcomes. Using co-authorship analysis and keyword co-occurrence mapping, combined with a targeted review of highly cited and recent influential studies, the paper traces how language proficiency has been conceptualised and empirically assessed across the literature. The findings show that research is dominated by human capital and signalling approaches linking language proficiency to employment and earnings but also reveal persistent inequalities that language skills alone do not resolve. Institutional arrangements, discrimination, health, and socio-demographic factors substantially mediate the labour market value of language proficiency. The study reconceptualises language proficiency as a socially and institutionally mediated resource and highlights the need for more integrative and comparative approaches to migrant labour market research.
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