Housewife and Working-Wife Families: A Housing Comparison

Abstract

This is confirmed by data which show the husbands in the working-wife families to have lower educational (especially in the higher income brackets) and occupational indices, and fewer assets.' It might be expected that such differences would affect housing behavior. Economically, the working-wife family may perceive its ability to pay differently; culturally, it may perceive its housing needs differently. Pertinent here is Milton Friedman's permanent-income hypothesis, which views families as saving and spending not in accordance with their current incomes but in accordance with what might be regarded as their permanent (or normal) incomes.2 Since the working-wife's labor force participation is shorter and more sporadic than that of the married male, there is reason to believe that her income includes a transitory component.3 Thus, the working-wife family may have a lower permanent income than that of the housewife family of equal current income. Further, education and occupation are considered as part of human wealth, the presence of which makes for higher permanent income.4 People with lower permanent incomes may have lower commitments and/or spending on housing because they would prefer to limit long-