Father Involvement with Their Nonmarital Children

SUMMARY

The expanding consensus about the advantages of two-parent families, together with the rising number of children growing up without the presence of both parents, has stimulated policy-makers to look for ways of increasing fathers' involvement. This paper examines two sets of questions relevant to these policy initiatives. The first concerns the patterns of involvement between fathers and children born outside of marriage. The paper defines father involvement as a continuum ranging from no visitation, to frequent visitation, to co-residence with the child, and to co-residence along with marrying the mother. We examine this involvement in specific years and over time. One key finding is that most fathers of nonmarital children in their late twenties and early thirties are highly involved with at least one of their nonmarital children. In addition, we find that cohabiting relationships and frequent visitation are often unstable, sometimes changing toward lower involvement, while in other cases changing toward higher degrees of involvement. A second question we address in this paper is whether father involvement leads to increased earnings. We find a positive relationship between increased involvement of fathers and their subsequent hours of work and earnings.     

Mincer's Overtaking Point and the Life Cycle Earnings Distribution

In 1958 Jacob Mincer pioneered an important approach to understand earnings distribution. In the years since Mincer's seminal work, he as well as his students and colleagues extended the original human capital model, reaching important conclusions about a whole array of observations pertaining to human well-being. This line of research explained why education enhances earnings; why earnings rise at a diminishing rate throughout one's life; why earnings growth is smaller for those anticipating intermittent labor force participation; why men earn more than women; why Whites earn more than Blacks; why occupational distributions differ by gender; why geographic and job mobility predominate among the young; why unemployment is lower among the skilled; and why numerous other labor market phenomena occur. This paper surveys the answers to these and other questions based on research emanating from Mincer's original discovery. In addition, this paper provides new empirical evidence regarding Mincer's concept of the overtaking age–a topic not currently well-explored in the literature. In this latter vein, the paper shows that Mincer's original finding of a U-shaped (log) variance of earnings over the life cycle is upheld in recent data, both for the United States as well as at least seven other countries.     

Wie die Mutter, so die Tochter?

In analyses that deal with occupational mobility the question as to how the mother’s occupational status influences the process of occupational status attainment usually is passed over. Here we formulate hypotheses on over-time and life course dynamics of her influence: mothers’ (and fathers’) status transfer for cohorts of daughters born between 1927 and 1965 and additionally for labour market careers. Sons are excluded in the analytical model because the mother’s job appears not to be important for their job status locations. The hypotheses are tested in a cluster adjusted regression analysis. The German database contains 4043 job spells of 1760 women and the two pooled Dutch sets of data include 4513 job spells of 1623 female respondents. Our results show that in recent decennia the influence of the occupational status of both parents on their daughter’s job status has decreased in a similar fashion. We conclude that a continuing trend towards a decrease of social inequality in the process of occupational status attainment is applicable to the influence of the father and the mother. Over the course of the daughter’s career, however, her occupational status becomes increasingly related to that of her mother. This result indicates that the occupational role model of the mother seems to be important for understanding patterns of female occupational immobility.     

Can cultural consumption increase future earnings? Exploring the economic returns to cultural capital

Cultural consumption is often viewed as a form of embodied cultural capital which can be converted into economic rewards (e.g., earnings) because such practices increase the likelihood of moving into more advantaged social positions. However, quantitative evidence supporting this theory remains uncertain because it is often unable to rule out alternative explanations. Cultural consumption appears to influence hiring decisions in some elite firms, in both the US and the UK, but it is unclear whether these processes are applicable to other professional occupations and other labour market processes, such as promotions. We examine these processes using data from Understanding Society, an individual‐level panel survey conducted in the UK, allowing us to explore whether cultural consumption predicts future earnings, upward social mobility and promotions. People who consume a larger number of cultural activities are more likely to earn higher wages in the future, to be upwardly socially mobile, and to be promoted. Cultural consumption, then, can function as cultural capital in some labour market settings, potentially contributing to the reproduction of income inequality between generations.     

Labor Migration,Remittances and Household Income: A Comparison between Filipino and Filipina Overseas Workers1

The major purpose of the research is to examine gender differences in patterns of labor market activity, economic behavior and economic outcomes among labor migrants. While focusing on Filipina and Filipino overseas workers, the article addresses the following questions: whether and to what extent earnings and remittances of overseas workers differ by gender; and whether and to what extent the gender of overseas workers differentially affects household income in the Philippines. Data for the analysis were obtained from the Survey of Households and Children of Overseas Workers (a representative sample of households drawn in 1999–2000 from four major “labor sending” areas in the Philippines). The analysis focuses on 1,128 households with overseas workers. The findings reveal that men and women are likely to take different jobs and to migrate to different destinations. The analysis also reveals that many more women were unemployed prior to migration and that the earnings of women are, on average, lower than those of men, even after controlling for variations in occupational distributions, country of destination, and sociodemographic attributes. Contrary to popular belief, men send more money back home than do women, even when taking into consideration earnings differentials between the genders. Further analysis demonstrates that income of households with men working overseas is significantly higher than income of households with women working overseas and that this difference can be fully attributed to the earnings disparities and to differences in amount of remittances sent home by overseas workers. The results suggest that gender inequal‐     

Mother’s,Father’s,or Both? Parental Gender and Parent‐Child Interactions in the Racial Classification of Adolescents1

Research on racial identification in interracial families shows that children are more likely to be labeled as minority if the father is of minority race. Yet, prior studies have not sufficiently considered the role of parent‐child relationships in shaping children’s identification with either mother’s or father’s race. We address this limitation using data on 706 adolescents in interracial families from Wave 1 of Add Health. We examine whether adolescents identify with their mother’s race or with their father’s race, as opposed to selecting a multiracial identity, within specific combinations of parents’ races. We also explore whether indicators of parental involvement (i.e., quantity and quality of involvement, educational involvement, and social control) explain any gender effects. Contrary to prior studies, we find that the tendency to match father’s race is only true in black/white households, particularly if he is white, while adolescents in Asian/white families tend to match mothers regardless of her race. Moreover, while father’s involvement, particularly educational involvement, was more likely than mother’s to influence racial classification, adjusting for involvement does not explain gender patterns. This study shows that the well‐known gender influences on parenting have little to do with the complex ways parent‐child relationships impact racial classification.     

My Assistant and I: disabled children's and adolescents' roles and relationships to their assistants

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to describe how children and adolescents with restricted mobility perceive their assistant with a focus on their roles and relationships with one another. The group investigated consisted of 13 children and adolescents with restricted mobility from northern Sweden, aged from 8 to 19 years. The analysis resulted in five categories: 1, the replaceable assistant; 2, the assistant as mother/father; 3, the professional assistant; 4, the assistant as a friend; and finally 5, my ideal assistant. In each category the child/adolescent was seen in relation to the assistant, i.e. the main story 'My assistant and I' from different perspectives. The findings showed that relation towards/from the assistant were both mutual and non-mutual, and that there were relations that by the children/adolescents were perceived as ambivalent and unequal. The findings are discussed on the basis of the significance of these roles and relations in the children and adolescents' development.     

Earning Gaps for Chinese Immigrants in Canada and the United States

This study compares the US and Canada on the gap in earnings between Chinese immigrants and native‐born whites. Canada and the US are arguably more alike than most possible country pairings, yet they differ in significant ways in their approaches to immigration and integration. The primary difference between Canada and the US regarding immigration policy is that Canada selects a larger proportion of economic immigrants – that is, those admitted based on their ability to contribute to the economy – than the US's focus on family reunification. Canadian immigration and multicultural integration policy does not appear to improve Chinese immigrant earnings in the way that might be predicted from Canada's skilled‐based immigrant selection policy and welcoming social context. In spite of a more laissez‐faire approach to immigrant integration and a less skill‐selective immigration policy, we show that Chinese immigrants are earning relatively more in the US than in Canada.     

Negative Assimilation: How Immigrants Experience Economic Mobility in Japan

This paper examines the economic mobility of foreign migrants in Japan. In a country that is largely regarded as homogeneous and closed to outsiders, how and to what extent do immigrants achieve economic success? A survey conducted by the authors revealed that the conventional assimilationist perspective does not fully explain immigrants’ economic success in Japan. Migrants from the West experience what Chiswick and Miller ( 2011 ) refer to as “negative assimilation.” That is, their earnings decline over time in Japan. While negative assimilation was not clearly observed among immigrants from neighboring Asian countries, wages among them did not increase with the length of their stay in Japan. For both groups, the skills they brought from abroad were found to be largely accountable for their economic success, while locally specific human capital, such as education acquired in the host society, did not contribute to their earnings.     

Soviet Jews in the United States: an analysis of their linguistic and economic adjustment

"This article reviews the literature and analyzes 1980 Census data to study English language fluency and earnings among Soviet Jews [in the United States]. The literature review reveals: 1) the importance of employment and attaining premigration occupational status for self-esteem; 2) the difficulty of adjusting to the wide range of choices in the United States; 3) the greater difficulty and economic importance of learning English; and 4) the rapid linguistic and economic mobility. The multivariate analysis supports the latter two points. Soviet Jews have a difficult initial adjustment, but after five years in the United States they achieve parity in English fluency and earnings with other European immigrants, ceteris paribus."     

Earnings mobility of first and "1.5" generation Mexican-origin women and men: a comparison with U.S.-born Mexican-Americans and non-Hispanic whites

"This study addresses the following questions: Are Mexican immigrants closing the earnings gap with greater time in the United States, compared to U.S.-born Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites? What factors are most important in determining their earnings? How are earnings determinants different for women versus men, and those who came to the United States as children, versus those who came as adults and those born in the United States?... With greater time in the United States, male immigrants achieve average earnings comparable to U.S.-born Mexican Americans, but not to non-Hispanic whites, controlling for human capital variables. With greater time in the United States, female immigrants approach the number of hours of paid work of U.S.-born women, but not the earnings received per hour. Gains in earnings associated with age, time in the United States, and English proficiency differ by gender, reflecting structural differences in the labor market."     

Clusters and Correlates of Experiences With Parents and Peers in Early Adolescence

This study used a person‐oriented approach to examine links between adolescents' experiences with parents and peers. Cluster analysis classified 361, White, working‐ and middle‐class youth (mean age=12.16 years) based on mothers' and fathers' reports of parental acceptance and adolescents' reports of perceived peer competence. Three patterns were identified: high mother and father acceptance and high peer competence; low mother and father acceptance and high peer competence; and high mother acceptance, moderate father acceptance, and low peer competence. The groups differed with respect to youth's and parents' individual characteristics, family and peer dynamics, and youth functioning over time. Discussion focuses on the utility of a person‐oriented approach for studying parent–peer linkages in early adolescence and their implications.     

Social Fathering in Low‐Income,African American Families with Preschool Children

Although research increasingly focuses on nonresident biological fathers, little attention has been given to the role of other men in children's lives. The authors examine the factors associated with social father presence and their influence on preschoolers' development. Findings indicate that the majority of children have a social father and that mother, child, and nonresident biological father characteristics are all related to social father presence. These associations differ depending on whether the social father is the mother's romantic partner or a male relative. The social father's influence on children's development also depends on his relationship to the child. Male relative social fathers are associated with higher levels of children's school readiness, whereas mothers' romantic partner social fathers are associated with lower levels of emotional maturity.     

The effects of internal migration on the relative economic status of women and men

This article examines recent internal migration patterns for the United States workforce and contrasts household earnings outcomes for movers and nonmovers by sex and marital status. Three aspects of how migration affects the relative economic status of women and men are considered: 1) the importance of relative economic opportunities for husband and wife for the decision as to whether or not to move; 2) actual economic outcomes for movers relative to nonmovers; and 3) the effect of moving on relative earnings within married-couple households. We find that the decision to move is consistent with a common preference model of household decisionmaking and that the recently available range of opportunities to migrate has had little effect on the earnings composition of married-couple and single male households, but has benefited single women.     

A note on democratization and economic conditions in Eastern Europe

This note empirically analyzes whether attitudes towards the progress in democratization in Eastern Europe are influenced by economic factors. It is found that both subjective and objective personal economic experiences as well as macroeconomic developments have a significant influence on perceptions of the progress in political transformation.     

Joint Physical Custody in The Netherlands and the Well-Being of Children

The frequency of contact with fathers and mothers and the amount of parental support for boys and girls is an important issue after divorce, from emotional, legal, and empirical points of view. In the Netherlands between 1998 and 2008, joint physical custody after divorce (when children actually have shared residences) has increased from 5% to 16%. It is therefore interesting to compare the effects growing up in the following different kinds of families actually has on children: (a) mother families with low contact frequency with the father; (b) mother families with high contact frequency with the father; (c) co-parenting families (joint physical custody); and (d) father families. The main conclusion is that, on average, the effects of joint physical custody for children, mothers, and especially for fathers, are slightly positive.     

Using child welfare assessments and latent class analysis to identify prevalence and comorbidity of parent service needs

Data collected through Illinois's Integrated Assessment (IA) program—an assessment and service coordination program incorporating clinical assessments of both parents following a child's placement in foster care—offers a unique opportunity to examine the service needs of parents within a family context. Between January 2007 and June 2010, integrated assessments were completed with 4089 families in which at least one parent participated in the assessment. Utilizing these data, this study employs a Latent Class Analysis approach to identify the patterns of service needs of parents with children entering foster care. Latent class models were generated for mothers and fathers who participated in comprehensive family assessments based on identified service needs. Models revealed “low need” and “high need” classes among both mothers and fathers. A distinct class characterized by substance abuse needs emerged among fathers and a similar class among mothers was characterized by both substance abuse and mental health needs. A mental health needs class was identified among fathers while a similar class among mothers was characterized by both mental health needs as well as trauma symptoms. In examining the distribution of classes among families where both parents were present, the largest groups of families were those in which both parents fell into the “low need” classes, those in which the father fell into the “low need” class and the mother fell into the “substance abuse and mental health” class, and those in which both the mother and the father fell into the “substance abuse” classes. Implications for case assignment practices, father engagement, and addressing comorbid service needs are discussed.     

Life Satisfaction Among Children in Different Family Structures: A Comparative Study of 36 Western Societies

This paper examines differences in life satisfaction among children in different family structures in 36 western, industrialised countries (n = 184 496). Children living with both biological parents reported higher levels of life satisfaction than children living with a single parent or parent–step‐parent. Children in joint physical custody reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction than their counterparts in other types of non‐intact families. Controlling perceived family affluence, the difference between joint physical custody families and single mother or mother–stepfather families became non‐significant. Difficulties in communicating with parents were strongly associated with less life satisfaction but did not mediate the relation between family structure and life satisfaction. Children in the Nordic countries characterised by strong welfare systems reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction in all living arrangements except in single father households. Differences in economic inequality between countries moderated the association between certain family structures, perceived family affluence and life satisfaction.     

Intergenerational mobility of housework time in the United Kingdom

This paper analyzes the relationship between parents’ time devoted to housework and the time devoted to housework by their children. Using data from the Multinational Time Use Study for the UK, we find positive intergenerational correlations in housework for both parents, indicating that the more time parents devote to housework, the more time their children will devote to housework. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey, we find that a higher father–mother housework ratio is positively related to a higher child–mother housework ratio, even after allowing for individual fixed-effects. In order to address the potential exacerbation of errors-in-variables arising from the fixed-effects specification, we instrument the father–mother ratio of housework using father’s and mother’s lagged weekly working hours. The Instrumental-Variable estimates fully support the fixed-effects estimates, and suggest that the latter should be regarded as a lower bound. We also present evidence of the link between housework during adolescence and during adulthood, which may indicate that housework time during adulthood depends on the housework time during childhood, which may also be affected by parents’ housework time. Our results contribute to the field of the intergenerational mobility of behaviors.