Determinants of Extended Household Structure: Cultural Pattern or Economic Need?

TLDR

The study investigates how household composition relates to income sources among Hispanic, Black, and non‑Hispanic white households, focusing on whether extended living arrangements mitigate labor‑market disadvantages for minority heads. The authors use logit and regression models to examine the role of extended living arrangements in buffering labor‑market disadvantages faced by minority household heads. Results show that the prevalence of extended family households varies mainly by group‑specific propensity to extend, and that in Black and Hispanic households non‑nuclear members significantly contribute to income, whereas in non‑Hispanic white households they do not.

Abstract

This research examines th relationship between household composition and sources of household income among Hispanics, blacks, and non-Hispanic whites. Specifically, we investigate the extent to which extended living arrangements help buffer the effect of labor market disadvantages faced by minority household heads. Results of logit and regression analyses indicate that differences in the prevalence of extented family households reflect primarily group-specific differences in the propensity to extend, but that this demographic mechanism may also serve as a compensatory strategy for supplementing the temporarily or chronically low earnings of minority household heads. In black and Hispanic households, nonnuclear members contribute significantly to total household income, although their relative contributions are approximately similar for poor and nonpoor households. Nonnuclear members in non-Hispanic white households appear not to participate significantly in the generation of household income.