Working Wives and Major Family Expenditures

Abstract

This study examines working-wife (WW) and nonworking-wife (NWW) family purchases of, and amount spent for, time-saving durables, other durables, hobby and recreation items, vacations, and college education. Size of total family income and whether the family moved recently to a different house in which they had some equity were important variables in the purchase decisions. Wife's labor force behavior, however, was not important in the purchase decisions. Income and assets, but not wife's labor force behavior, were significant in the expenditure decisions.