Dead Languages as an Profitable Investment?
- How does the selection of a classical language at school affect prospects on the labor market? Even though research on the impact of horizontal educational inequalities on labor market outcomes has become prominent recently, this question has not yet attracted scholarly attention. Based on several differing approaches (Human Capital Theory, Signaling Theory, Homophily Principle), hypotheses are derived about the impact of the language profile at school on labor market prospects at career entry. To test these assumptions, a field experiment was conducted in which applications were submitted in response to job advertisements. Results show that choosing Latin and Ancient Greek has a positive impact on the chances of being invited to a job interview.
