Family Adaptations to Income and Job Loss in the U.S.

Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study examines the extent to which families experience major economic setbacks and how they respond. Families that experience a substantial loss of income or work hours are more likely to cut back on expenditures, receive public assistance, experience divorce or separation, and move. No evidence that partners are able to compensate for a major income loss by increasing their work hours was found. Initial conditions, such as income and assets, the unemployment rate of the area, and race, affect how a family adapts. Families with fewer resources and those who live in areas of high unemployment are more likely to rely on public assistance, and they are less likely to move, increase the work hours of the female head of household, or cut food expenditures.     

Perceived Economic Uncertainty and Fertility: Evidence From a Labor Market Reform

Whereas in theory individuals tend to postpone fertility decisions in times of economic uncertainty, empirical evidence on that question is scarce. Using data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel (N = 4,548), the authors estimated the effect of economic concerns on the probability of becoming pregnant in the next year. They exploited exogenous variation in economic concerns induced by the announcement of a major German unemployment benefit reform as an instrumental variable and found that strong economic concerns were significantly related to lower fertility of women between ages 26 and 44 years cohabiting with a male partner. Jointly estimating the impact of male and female concerns in a model that allows for endogeneity of perceived economic uncertainty revealed that it was strong economic concerns perceived by the women that reduced fertility. The effect was driven by male main breadwinner couples, by couples with a medium household income, and by couples who already had children.     

Horizontal Inequities in the German Tax-Benefit-System: The Case of Two Wage-Earner Employee Households

The question of how horizontal equity between families in the tax-benefit-system is affected by the within-household distribution of earnings has not been systematically analyzed so far. Using an arithmetic model accounting for all relevant parts of the German tax-benefit-system we explored this aspect in detail. From our calculations it became evident that the combined burden of taxes, social security contributions, and transfers was significantly affected by the distribution of earnings between spouses and that the effect differs with respect to total household income. Overall, the German tax-benefit-system favors an unequal income distribution within the household. Applying the model on empirical data taken from the most recent German Income and Expenditure Survey, we were able to quantify these effects. According to our results, total disposable income of the households analyzed would increase by about €5.5 billion per year if all wage income within households would be allocated to a single-earner.     

Gender and the socioeconomic gradient in mortality.

Despite considerable evidence documenting a strong and persistent relationship between socioeconomic position and mortality, recent research suggests that this association may be weaker among women. In our examination of gender differences in the socioeconomic gradient in mortality, we argue that this inconsistency arises from the failure to consider the ways in which gender is a fundamental constituent of socioeconomic position. The data used are from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Respondents, including all household heads and their partners, aged 29 years and older in 1972 (N = 5,665; 56% female), were followed until 1991, death, or attrition. Discrete time event history analysis was used to examine the predictors of death between 1972 and 1991. Of the key socioeconomic predictors, years of education was measured at baseline, while earned income was a time-varying covariate. We find no gender differences in the effect of respondents' own socioeconomic positions on their mortality risk. However, increasing spousal income raises men's odds of dying, while the opposite is true for women. Our results raise questions about the prevailing view that the socioeconomic gradient in mortality is weaker among women. Moreover, gender differences in the effects of spousal earnings on mortality risk suggest that their labor market rewards have fundamentally different meanings for women and men.     

THE DECOMPOSITION OF INEQUALITY BY CLASS AND BY OCCUPATION:

Sociological research on earnings and income has focused on predicting individual income. Analyses most often use occupational status or class, along with other economically relevant variables, to explain earnings or income variations among individuals (income determination). Aggregate inequality (income distribution) has received considerably less attention, except in cross-national research. This especially holds for applying central concepts of stratification to the analysis of inequality. That is, class and occupation differences in economic rewards are rarely used to investigate aggregate earnings or income inequality. This study, using 1976 and 1977 Panel Study of Income Dynamics survey data, estimates the proportion of total earnings/income inequality accounted for by class and by occupation. Theil's index is used to measure earnings and income inequality and thus decompose total inequality into between-and within-group components. Wright's five-category schema is replicated for decomposition of inequality by class and a traditional four-category ordinal typology for decomposition by occupation. The two schemas show similar results: both class and occupation respectively account for between one-fifth and one-fourth of total earnings and income inequality. The results show the relevance of these central stratification typologies for the analysis of aggregate inequality.     

Married women's resource position and household food expenditures in Cebu,Philippines

This study analyzes how married women use their access to and control over economic resources to increase household spending on food. Using data from Cebu, Philippines, where child malnutrition is high, this study finds that the more income women earn and control, the more households spend on food. Women's control over their income is particularly important for increasing food expenditures in the poorest households. In richer households, women who earn little of their own income also use spouse income transfers to increase food expenditures. The findings from this study suggest that in a developing country setting, improving women's economic status so that they earn and control more household resources can increase household spending on goods that benefit children.     

Capabilities and employability of unwed mothers

In this paper we assess the economic capabilities of a sample of unwed mothers who gave birth in the spring of 1998 in hospitals that serve low-income residents in seven cities that are part of a national sampling frame. We show that recent unwed mothers who are not in a cohabiting relationship are especially vulnerable to economic hardship because they are more likely to encounter multiple barriers to employment than mothers who do cohabit with their newborn's father. However, analyses of earnings capacity suggest that most single-mother families would be poor even if the mothers worked 1500 hours per year, and near poor if they worked full-time, year round (2000 hours). Analyses of income portfolios indicate that low-income mothers are quite resourceful packaging cash and income transfers from multiple sources to meet the needs of their families. These results are discussed in the context of recent welfare reforms.     

Real household income and attitude toward immigrants: an empirical analysis

Previous studies have analyzed the (aggregate) effects of unemployment on attitudes towards immigrants and on right-wing crimes. In this paper, we investigate the effects of economic prosperity on attitudes towards immigrants, focusing not only on unemployment status but also on real household income. Using panel data from the German Socioeconomic Panel on around 33,000 individuals over the period 1992–2004 we find a robust negative relationship between real personal household income and self-declared concern about immigrants, both in levels and first differences. Both job loss and income reduction concerns about immigration. Our findings document an interesting interaction between economic variables and social attitudes which does not depend on economic growth per se but on its capacity to generate higher economic wellbeing at individual level, not only for unemployed people but also for those in employment, who may face a fall in real income during economic downturns.     

The earned income tax credit and union formation: The impact of expected spouse earnings

Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation from 2001, 2004, and 2008 and federal and state variation in earned income tax credit generosity over time, I investigate how changes in expected household earned income tax credit benefits associated with marriage affect cohabitation and marriage behavior among low-income single mothers. I simulate a marriage market to predict potential spouse earnings for a sample of single mothers in order to estimate the potential losses or gains in earned income tax credit benefits upon marriage. Using multinomial logistic regressions, I then analyze how the anticipated loss in earned income tax credit benefits upon marriage affects the likelihood of marrying or cohabiting. Results suggest that the average earned income tax credit-eligible woman can expect to lose approximately US$1,300 in earned income tax credit benefits in the year following marriage, or about half of pre-marriage benefits. Single mothers who expect to lose earned income tax credit benefits upon marriage are 2.5 percentage points less likely to marry their partners and 2.5 percentage points more likely to cohabit compared to single mothers who expect no change or to gain earned income tax credit benefits upon marriage. Despite recent policy efforts to reduce the size of the marriage penalty embedded in the earned income tax credit structure, these results suggest that the earned income tax credit still creates distortions in marriage and cohabitation decisions among low-income single mothers.     

The influence of motherhood on income: do partner characteristics and parity matter?

Although the economic independence of women has been greatly advanced in recent decades, it continues to lag far behind men’s in the Netherlands and elsewhere. The negative consequences of motherhood are an important driving force behind women’s abiding lower income. Although mother’s lower earnings have received a substantial amount of attention from scholars and the underlying mechanisms are well established, surprisingly little is known about mitigating factors. This article contributes to the literature by investigating how the earnings disadvantage of mothers is affected by partner characteristics and by parity. We formulate hypotheses about the effect of a partner’s working hours, his earnings and his gender role orientations, on the earnings disadvantage associated with motherhood. Furthermore, we examine the role of parity in this earnings disadvantage. Our hypotheses are tested using longitudinal data from the first three waves of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study. Our hypotheses concerning partner characteristics are not supported. The earnings disadvantage of mothers is hardly affected by them. We do find that parity matters greatly in examining the effect that motherhood has on women’s earnings. The transition to motherhood has a much larger effect on earnings than the birth of subsequent children. The implications of these findings and the specificity of the Dutch context are discussed.     

Population Growth and the Distribution of Household Income: The Case of Brazil*

Special tabulations of the 1970 census of Brazil are used to estimate fertility and mortality rates by level of household income. Projections to the year 2000 indicate that the poor population will grow substantially faster than the rich population. Projections that simulate upward social mobility and declines in fertility and mortality levels do not alter this conclusion. Differential rates of natural increase by income strata are shown to contribute to an increase in the proportion of the population in the lower income strata, by the end of the century. Although these differentials could be reduced by a more equitable distribution of income, the style of development in Brazil has yielded only a small increase in the real income of the poor. Analysis of the income elasticity of fertility and mortality at different levels of household earnings suggest that this pattern of economic growth will further widen differences in the rate of natural increase by socioeconomic strata. The analysis of the demographic behavior of population subgroups questions the assumption that a lower rate of aggregate population growth in developing countries necessarily contributes to a more equitable distribution of income.     

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.     

Die wahrgenommene Gerechtigkeit des eigenen Erwerbseinkommens: Geschlechtstypische Muster und die Bedeutung des Haushaltskontextes

The rise in female labor market participation and the growth of ??atypical?? employment arrangements has, over the last few decades, brought about a steadily decreasing percentage of households in which the man is the sole breadwinner, and a rising percentage of dual-earner households. Against this backdrop, the paper investigates how household contexts in which the traditional ??male breadwinner?? model still exists or has already been challenged affect individuals?? subjective evaluations of the justice of their personal earnings. In the first step we derive three criteria used by individuals to evaluate the fairness or justice of their personal earnings: compensation for services rendered, coverage of basic needs, and the opportunity to earn social approval. In the second step, we apply considerations from household economics and new approaches from gender research to explain why men??s and women??s evaluations of justice are determined to a considerable degree by the specific situation within their household. The assumptions derived regarding gender-specific patterns in justice attitudes are then tested on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) from 2007 and 2005. The results support our central thesis that gender-specific patterns in the evaluation of personal earnings are both reduced and increased in dual-earner households. They are reduced because women in dual-income households tend to have higher income expectations that challenge the existing gender wage gap. At the same time, gender-specific patterns are increased because men evaluate the equity of their personal income in relation to their ability to fulfill traditional gender norms and thus their capacity to live up to corresponding notions of ??masculinity.??     

Changing patterns in the allocation of savings,investments and debts within couple relationships

Using data from the British Household Panel Study (BHPS) from 1995 to 2005 we examine the nature of the allocation of savings, investments and debts between heterosexual couple members, how these vary by individual and household characteristics, and how these patterns vary over a ten‐year time horizon. We find savings are more commonly held in joint names than investments or debts and there is evidence of an increasing independence in financial arrangements between couple members throughout the period 1995 to 2005. Controlling for age and other factors, cohabitation reduces the likelihood of shared financial arrangements. Both partners' labour market income affects the likelihood of having any savings or investments for both men and women but as men's labour income increases, the likelihood of men having jointly held savings and investments with their female partner reduces. Psychological well‐being is improved where individuals have any savings or investments either solely or jointly held with their partner.     

Unpacking Within‐Household Gender Differences in Partners' Subjective Benefits From Household Income

The authors examine how contributions to household resources, indicated by employment status, influence satisfaction with household income (SWHI) for members of male/female couples. They take changes in SWHI, which may differ within couples, to indicate changes in perceived benefits from their common household income, benefits that can go beyond individual consumption. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey for 2,396 couples from 1996 to 2007, three gender effects are identified. First, men predominate in making the type of contribution that most positively influences SWHI, namely, full‐time employment. Second, the effect of contributions depends on the gender of the contributor, with men's employment being more influential than women's. Third, within couples, making the more influential contribution, as men tend to do, leads to relatively greater SWHI. The authors conclude that gender asymmetry in contributions made to household resources is one way in which gender inequalities invade and inhabit households.     

Barriers to Economic Security: Disability,Employment, and Asset Disparities in Canada

Although ample research shows that people with disabilities face significant labor market barriers, questions remain about whether and how disadvantages in employment and earnings contribute to economic insecurity. We use 1999 to 2012 Canadian Survey of Financial Security data to study disparities in nonhousing assets, which include household savings, stocks, and pensions, across households with and without disabilities. We find that households where the respondent or their spouse reported a disability held 25 percent less in nonhousing assets after accounting for key employment, education, and demographic factors. Demonstrating the more complicated relationship between disability, employment, and assets, these direct effects were further strengthened by disability's indirect effects on assets through its relationship with employment income.     

Household Composition and Poverty among Female‐Headed Households with Children: Differences by Race and Residence*

Abstract We examine race and residential variation in the prevalence of female‐headed households with children and how household composition is associated with several key economic well‐being outcomes using data from the 2000 5% Public Use Microdata Sample of the U.S. Census. Special attention is paid to cohabiting female‐headed households with children and those that are headed by a single grandmother caring for at least one grandchild, because these are becoming more common living arrangements among female‐headed households with children. We find that in 2000: (1) cohabiting and grandmother female‐headed households with children comprised over one‐fourth of all female‐headed households with children, (2) household poverty is highest for female‐headed households with children that do not have other adult household earners, (3) earned income from other household members lifts many cohabiting and grandparental female‐headed households out of poverty, as does retirement and Social Security income for grandmother headed households, and (4) poverty is highest among racial/ethnic minorities and for female‐headed households with children in nonmetro compared to central cities and suburban areas.     

Parental duties,labor market behavior,and single fatherhood in America

Longitudinal analysis using samples from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics suggests that men’s income and wages decrease after entering into single fatherhood by marital separation. This loss exceeds what can be explained by marital separation alone. Using a difference in difference approach, I estimate that single fatherhood suppresses men’s annual income by more than $8,000 per year, putting these men and their children at increased economic risk. Similar labor market changes are experienced by widower fathers, a subset of exogenous single fathers. The apparent effects show persistence after single fathers remarry, but mostly diminish after children mature and leave the household. These results stand at odds with previous research suggesting that fatherhood increases men’s wages and hours, and that male labor market outcomes are not significantly influenced by housework.     

Exiting or retaining owner-occupied housing in the United States 1999–2009: How do social programs matter?

This research examines exits from homeownership in the United States between 1999 and 2009 using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We first document the extent to which homeowners exited owned housing (to a rental unit or a rent-free unit) during that time period. Second, we examine how socio-demographic characteristics, housing characteristics, debt levels, and receipt of public and private transfers are associated with exiting (or retaining) homeownership, with a particular focus on whether transfers counteract earnings decreases and/or housing cost increases to assist homeowners in retaining their homes. We also investigate whether these associations differ for several subgroups of homeowners defined by their location in the income distribution and race. Findings from regression models that include individual, year, and state fixed effects highlight the role of both labor markets and housing markets in influencing exits from homeownership. More generous and universal public transfers (such as OASDI) appear to help owners retain homes, whereas less generous and means-tested transfers do not. At the same time, the influences of universal transfers on retaining a home are small in magnitude compared to those of decreases in earnings and home values as well as increases in payment-to-income and consumer debt-to-income ratios.     

Relative Spousal Earnings and Marital Happiness Among African American and White Women

The distinctive economic histories of African American and White wives suggest that involvement in household income production holds contextually situated unique meanings for these groups. Yet research has not addressed racial differences in the effects of relative earnings on marital well‐being. Surveying 431 employed wives in 21 U.S. cities, we found that wife‐to‐husband income ratio and marital happiness were negatively associated when women held traditional values, but in racially distinct ways. Among White women only, a negative association between income ratio and marital happiness was reversed when financial need was reported. Findings are discussed in terms of variability in the meaning of wives’ earnings as a function of situational, historical, and sociocultural dynamics.