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Women's Labor Force Participation and Status Exchange in Intermarriage: A Model and Evidence for Hawaii1

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Journal of Bioeconomics

Abstract

Women's labor force participation, ethnic status and interracial marriage are examined in this paper to test Grossbard-Shechtman's marriage market theory. Perceived racial and ethnic group status is found to be an important attribute in marriage market exchange that combines marriage and working outside the home. Caucasian women, who have a higher perceived ethnic status, tend not to work when they marry men of a lower perceived ethnic status, while the opposite is found of women who have a lower perceived group status and who marry into a higher-status group. This is especially of women with low education, while highly educated women are less affected by compensating differentials at marriage as related to ethnic status of the couple. Ethnic groups that have a recent immigration history also have a different pattern of intermarriage and women's labor force participation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA

    Shoshana Grossbard-Shechtman

  2. Office of Academic Programs, University of California, Merced, Fresno, CA, 93710, USA

    Xuanning Fu

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  1. Shoshana Grossbard-Shechtman
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  2. Xuanning Fu
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Grossbard-Shechtman, S., Fu, X. Women's Labor Force Participation and Status Exchange in Intermarriage: A Model and Evidence for Hawaii1 . Journal of Bioeconomics 4, 241–268 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021776126532

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