FAMILY, WORK AND WOMEN - THE LABOR SUPPLY OF HISPANIC IMMIGRANT WIVES

The article focuses on the economic circumstances and the family arran gements that govern the labor supply of Hispanic immigrant wives in th e United States. We use a two-stage estimation procedure and a specifi cation 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 U.S. Census, examines immigrant wives of Mexican, Puerto Rican and Ot her Hispanic origin and compares their labor supply with that of their native-born counterparts and U.S.- born white wives. Results indicate that the labor force behavior of Hispanic immigrant wives is highly r esponsive to their earning potential and, unlike that of U.S.-born whi te wives, is less constrained by their familial role as mothers.