Language learning and integration of immigrants in Sweden

This project aims to investigate the role that misconceptions about the future returns to learning Swedish play in immigrants’ underinvestment in language skills. The project will collect survey data on (i) immigrants’ subjective perceptions of future uncertainties; (ii) the individual determinants of these perceptions; and (iii) immigrants’ investments in learning Swedish. The survey data will be linked to register data on the respondents. Using these data, a combination of descriptive and structural analyses based on theoretical models will be conducted.

Public expenditure on Swedish for Immigrants (sfi) amounted to SEK 3.5 billion in 2021. However, low participation and high dropout rates in sfi have led to several new policy proposals aimed at improving immigrants’ language learning. The results of the project will contribute to designing guidelines to increase both enrollment in and completion of sfi.

Data collection will take place through a longitudinal survey of new sfi students and will be carried out in collaboration with Uppsala Municipality. The survey is based on two pilot studies already conducted by the applicant.

Project start

2025

Funding

IFAU

Researcher

Sébastien Willis, forskare i nationalekonomi, IBF (projektledare)

Collaboration partner

Uppsala Municipality