Abstract
Large employment and unemployment gaps persist between refugees and other migrants across Europe; refugees are 11.6 percentage points less likely to be employed and 22 points more likely to be unemployed than otherwise similar migrants (Fasani et al., 2022). Linguistic barriers are repeatedly identified as the key obstacle for economic and social integration (Lochmann et al., 2018). A growing experimental literature demonstrates that combining language training with job-search or work-practice components can generate large gains in refugee employment. Randomised controlled trials of refugee integration in Europe have examined a variety of interventions, such as occupation‑specific job‑search intermediation in Germany (Battisti et al., 2019), intensive counselling in Sweden (Andersson Joona & Nekby, 2012) and combined language‑plus‑placement schemes (Dahlberg et al., 2024). Yet, no study to date has isolated the direct effect of intensive language training and how changes in language skills contribute to refugees’ integration, leaving an important evidence gap that the present project addresses.
This randomised controlled trial will evaluate the causal impact of intensive French language courses tailored to labor market shortages in Luxembourg on a variety of economic and social integration outcomes of refugees. The intervention is delivered through the PARLE program, implemented by EFID, a non-profit organization that promotes social cohesion through a range of programs, including specialized professional French training for vulnerable populations such as refugees. The courses focus on professional vocabulary and targets the most vulnerable refugees, those without formal employment and who have very limited French skills. A total of 800 participants will be randomized: 400 in the treatment group, who will attend PARLE courses, and 400 in the control group, who will continue to access the standard support, training, and workshops offered by the National Office for Social Inclusion (ONIS).
Primary outcomes include dimensions observed in the administrative data such as job reactivation (registering in the unemployment agency), employment status, monthly earnings, contract stability, as well as educational outcomes (e.g., follow-up of training or enrolling in educational programs). We will carry out subgroup analyses by gender, education, household composition, language skills, and distance to the learning centers. Secondary outcomes include French language acquisition (measured by pre and post-intervention tests), job autonomy (e.g., being able to prepare a CV, search for jobs, do an interview, etc.), social integration, subjective well-being, and health, combining survey data with administrative records from the Social Security system and other public institutions. By focusing on the isolated effect of intensive language training, this study will provide frontier evidence to policy debates on refugee integration in Europe, addressing not only labor market outcomes but also social and health dimensions of inclusion. Furthermore, by accurately measuring refugees learning acquisition, it will provide key insights into how enhanced language skills translate into better integration outcomes, and how it can help refugees who are far from the labor market (inactive) make crucial steps to rejoin the labor force.