Working Wives and Expenditure on Services

Abstract

The major focus of this research is the relationship between a wife's employment and expenditure on time-saving services. Multiple regression analysis of data from the 1972–1973 Consumer Expenditure Survey indicates that two measures of the extent of a wife's participation in the labor force were influential in determining monetary outlay on services that are expected to be sensitive to the value of time. Other factors—such as family income, education, and stage of the family life cycle—also exert an impact on expenditure. Findings indicate that family expenditure on services is a complex process influenced by many factors besides a wife's employment.