Racial Differences in the Contribution of Wife's Earnings to Family Income Distribution

Abstract

This study, based on the 1989 interview wave of the Panel Studies of Income Dynamics (PSID) and on the 1990 Latino Sample Survey of the PSID, examines wives' economic contribution, as compared to husbands', among three racial/ethnic groups-non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and Hispanics. The findings show that, although white and black wives were not different in their earnings, black wives' earnings accounted for a significantly higher percentage of the couples' combined earnings than did the white wives . The economic contribution of Hispanic wife-workers to their families was as significant as that of white wife-workers, because their husbands earned less than the white husbands. But, because a significantly lower proportion of Hispanic wives worked outside the home than did white or black wives, and because those who worked earned less, the family income distribution between white and Hispanic families and between black and Hispanic families became even less equal due to wives' earnings. Policy implications are discussed.