Danish Language Centres for Refugees — Quasi-Experimental Evidence That Proximity Raises Class Hours, Fluency and Local Settlement

Denmark provides state-funded language training to refugees through local language centres. Foged and van der Werf (IZA DP 16091, 2023) exploit the opening, closing and gradual expansion of these centres, together with the quasi-random placement of refugees at different distances from a centre, to estimate the effect of access to language classes.
A one-hour reduction in commuting time increases total class hours attended by 46 to 71. The authors report that 100 additional hours of class raise Danish fluency by 8-9%, gains in post-training human capital of 11-13%, and better local integration: lower exit rates from initial placement communities and almost 70% fewer moves to the largest, most immigrant-dense cities.
Limits: the evidence is a discussion/working paper, effects are measured for refugees placed under Denmark's dispersal policy, and an alternative employment measure shows no significant effect, so the gains are in language and settlement rather than proven employment.

Read the full analysis: https://repec.iza.org/dp16091.pdf