Work and the Family

A Study in Social Demography

1st Edition - July 28, 1982
Author: Valerie Kincade Oppenheimer
Language: English
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 7 3 5 0 - 1

Work and the Family: A Study in Social Demography reports on the investigation of a variety of economic squeezes hypothesized to be characteristic of postwar American society. One… Read more

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Work and the Family: A Study in Social Demography reports on the investigation of a variety of economic squeezes hypothesized to be characteristic of postwar American society. One is the lower white-collar squeeze where the attainment of white-collar lifestyle aspirations may be impeded by an income equivalent to that of many manual workers. The others are the two life-cycle squeezes: the squeeze of early adulthood when the desire to set up a household is hampered by the relatively low earnings of young men; and the squeeze of middle adulthood when the cost of children is peaking but increases in the earnings of husbands may be slowing down with regard to those squeezes. The book is organized into four parts. Part I introduces the theoretical model to be used and the major objectives of the research. It also discusses important conceptual and methodological problems involved in life-cycle analysis and the use of occupation as a major analytical tool. Part II examines life-cycle squeezes—structured sources of economic stress arising out of the interaction of family and career cycles. Part III examines the nature of wives' socioeconomic contribution to the family. Part IV essentially sums up the theoretical implications of the analyses conducted in the preceding chapters and represents a more formal theoretical statement of the issues in terms of adaptive family strategies. This study is aimed at the wide audience of demographers, sociologists, economists, and historians who are interested in family socio economic and demographic behavior. It is also intended to appeal to readers at all levels of methodological sophistication—whether professionals or graduate students.

PrefaceAcknowledgmentsI An Overview 1 Analytical Goals and Conceptual Tools I. Economic Squeezes II. Career and Family-Cycle Stages III. Relative Economic Status as a Conceptual Tool IV. Extension of Model V. Changing Sex-Role Attitudes VI. Data Sources VII. Conclusion 2 Conceptual and Methodological Issues I. An Intermediate Classification of Occupations II. Conceptual and Methodological Issues in Life-Cycle AnalysesII Life-Cycle Squeezes and Their Components 3 Career Cycle and Occupational Differentials in Men's Earnings I. Age-Earnings Profiles of Men by Occupation: 1959 and 1969 Similarities II. The Lower White-Collar Squeeze III. 1959-1969 Changes in Age and Occupational Patterns of Earnings: A Description IV. Explaining Changes in the Age Patterns of Earnings V. Prospects for the 1980s VI. Conclusion 4 The First Life-Cycle Squeeze I. The Cost of Setting up a Household II. Marriage and the First Squeeze III. Conclusion 5 The Second Life-Cycle Squeeze I. The Cost of Children II. The Overall Picture III. Occupational Differentials IV. ConclusionIII The Nature of Wives Socioeconomic Contribution to the Family 6 The Effect of Socioeconomic Pressures and Deterrents on Wives Labor-Force Participation I. The Role of Income and Occupation II. Past Marital Instability as a Factor in Wives Labor-Force Participation III. Family-Cycle Stage IV. Conclusion 7 Wives Potential Socioeconomic Contribution and Their Labor-Force Status I. The Sociology of Women's Economic Role in the Family II. The Labor-Force Impact of the Potential Socioeconomic Advantage of Wives Working III. Conclusion 8 Socioeconomic and Demographic Implications of Wives Employment I. Educational Attainment II. Economic Impact of Wives Working III. ConclusionIV Epilogue 9 Life-Cycle Squeezes and Adaptive Family Strategies I. Conceptualization II. Group I and II White-Collar Families III. Group III and IV Blue-Collar Families IV. Group III and IV White-Collar Families V. ImplicationsAppendixes Appendix A Occupations Classified by Peak 1959 Median Earnings within Major Occupation Groups Appendix Β Total Male Population in Selected Age Groups Appendix C Dollar Estimates of Expenditures on Children Appendix D Multiple Regression Models of Wives' Labor-Force Status in 1970 Appendix Ε Time Demands of Children Appendix F Median Income of Husbands and Families by Age and Occupation References References to Government DocumentsSubject Index