Language Resources and Asset Ownership Among Immigrants in Western New York

Background and Purpose: Immigrants are economically vulnerable and face multiple barriers to wealth accumulation. (1) They often have low levels of human capital (e.g., education and English proficiency) (Chin & Cortes, 2015; Martin & Midgley, 2010); (2) Their educational credentials and work experience obtained in their country of origin are rarely fully recognized in the US (Desiderio, 2016); (3) They often do not have credit history or have poor credit history (Paulson, Singer, Newberger, & Smith, 2006); and (4) They are not familiar with the US economic system (lack of understanding of U.S. financial system and low financial literacy) (Patraporn, Pfeiffer, & Ong, 2010; Paulson et al., 2006). Addressing the problem of limited English proficiency is considered key to immigrants’ economic success because the ability to speak English often improves one’s position in the labor market and financial system while facilitating the obtainment of needed financial information. However, existing research and policy focuses solely on an individual’s ability to speak English (Capps et al., 2015), although household- and community-level language resources may enhance immigrants’ financial capability and their opportunity in accumulating wealth. This study examines the association of three different levels of language resources (individual, household, and community) and immigrants’ asset ownership.

Methods: This study uses PUMS data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey collected from 2012 to 2016. The sample consists of households headed by immigrants living in five counties in Western New York. The dependent variables are homeownership, vehicle ownership, and asset income (a proxy measure of asset ownership consisting of interest, dividends, and net rental income). This study measures language resources at three different levels: (1) individual (1 if a head speaks English very well, well, or English only; 0 otherwise), (2) household (1 if a household has at least one member over age 14 who speaks English very well or English only; 0 otherwise), and (3) community (1 if the percentage of adults who speak English very well is over 50% among adults speaking the same language as household head in the county of residence, 0 otherwise). This study employs logit regressions for the dichotomous dependent variable and tobit regression for the continuous dependent variable (value of asset income). 

Results: Analyses show that all three levels of English resources have significant associations with homeownership, vehicle ownership, and asset income. The impact of community-level language on asset ownership is greater among immigrants with limited English proficiency: The difference in homeownership and asset income rates between those with low community-level language resources and those with more resource is greater among those who cannot speak English well than among those with high English proficiency.

Conclusions and Implications: This study shows the important role of language resources in immigrants’ asset ownership. Analysis results also suggest that community-level language resources promote asset ownership among those who cannot speak English well. Findings call for policy and community interventions that mobilize language resources for immigrants with limited English proficiency for their long-term economic security and development.