ABSTRACT
Economists have long been interested in the relationship between language and income, and more specifi cally in the effect that actors’ language skills may have on their earnings, or “labour income”. In fact, this question is central in the development of language economics as a fi eld of specialisation, and much of its history is organised around it. This issue also has considerable importance for this book, because the questions addressed here are directly connected to the value of foreign language skills on the labour market.
