The article focuses on the economic circumstances and the family arrangements that govern the labor supply of Hispanic immigrant wives in the US. We use a two-stage estimation procedure and a specification that models individual and familial factors that influence the labor supply of all women and those unique to immigrants. The analysis, based on a sample of Hispanic immigrant wives obtained from the 1980 US Census, examines immigrant wives of Mexican, Puerto Rican and Other Hispanic origin and compares their labor supply with that of their native-born counterparts and US-born white wives. Results indicate that the labor force behavior of Hispanic immigrant wives is highly responsive to their earning potential and, unlike that of US-born white wives, is less constrained by their familial role as mothers. -Authors

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racial difference Comparative Studies labour supply Hispanics immigrant wives family arrangement USA economic conditions gender studies