Translators: Market makers in merging markets

In a model with agglomeration returns to participation, there exists gains from merging two regions that conduct business in two incompatible language s. Bilingual individuals, translators. integrate these two regions. The spe ed of integration, creation of the initial translators, depends positively on: the maximum human capital in the two regions, the magnitude of the aggl omeration returns, and the population of the larger region. Because the com bined regions economize on the number of bilingual individuals, an economy with multiple languages is less productive than an economy with a single la nguage, however, both economies grow at the same rate in the long run. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.