[Accessibility
Information]
Related BLS
programs | Related articles
March 1998, Vol. 121, No. 3
The effect of working wives on the incidence of poverty
Peter Cattan
Associate Faculty Member, Center for Labor
Research and Studies, Florida International University, Miami,
Florida
Earnings of working wives markedly lowered the incidence of
poverty for all ethnic and race groups. Poverty rates for Mexican
immigrant and Cuban families dropped by hefty 25- and
20-percentage points, respectively, as a result of wives'
earnings. Using data from the BLS Current Population Survey, this
article also concludes that the relative declines, which adjust
for starting points, in poverty rates tended to fall at a faster
pace for white families than for minorities.
Read excerpt Download full text in PDF (61K)
Related BLS programs
Labor Force Statistics from the
Current Population Survey
- Related Monthly
Labor Review articles
- Experimental poverty
measurement for the 1990s. March 1998.
-
- Working poor, The. September 1997
-
- Work schedules of low-educated American
women and welfare reform, The. April 1997.
-
- What does it mean to be poor in America?
May 1996.
-
- Spending patterns of families receiving
public assistance. April 1996.
-
- Effects of intermittent labor force
attachment on women's earnings. September 1995.
-
- Boom in day care industry the result of
many social changes. August 1995.
-
- Married mothers' work patterns: the
job-family compromise. June 1994.
-
- Income and spending patterns of
single-mother families. May 1994.
-
- Working wives' contribution to family
income. August 1993. (Erratum: April 1994.)
-
- Working and poor in 1990. December 1992.
-
- Child-care arrangements and costs. October
1991.
-
- Child-care problems: an obstacle to work.
October 1991.
-
- Poverty areas and the 'underclass:'
untangling the web. March 1991.
Within Monthly Labor Review Online:
Welcome | Current
Issue | Index | Subscribe | Archives
Exit Monthly Labor Review Online:
BLS Home | Publications & Research Papers