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Article: Language and wealth.(COMMENTARY)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- July 7, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Washington Times LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Richard W. Rahn, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Does the language you speak or use help influence how wealthy you are?
When trying to determine why some countries are wealthier than others, economists rarely, if at all, consider language. However, if you look at the list of wealthiest countries on a per capita income basis, you will notice almost all the top 20 are English-speaking, or use some other Germanic language, with the exception of France, Japan, and Finland (however, most Finns know German and English as well as Swedish, and many Frenchmen know German and/or English).
English is only the primary language for about 5 percent ...