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Culture, Intermarriage, and Immigrant Women's - Labor Supply

Author

Listed:
  • Z. Eylem Gevrek

    (Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Germany)

  • Deniz Gevrek

    (Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, Texas)

  • Sonam Gupta

    (Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA)

Abstract

We examine the impact of culture on the work behavior of second-generation immigrant women in Canada. We contribute to the current literature by analyzing the role of intermarriage in intergenerational transmission of culture and its subsequent effect on labor market outcomes. Using relative female labor force participation and total fertility rates in the country of ancestry as cultural proxies, we find that culture matters for the female labor supply. Cultural proxies are significant in explaining number of hours worked by second-generation women with immigrant parents. Our results provide evidence that the impact of cultural proxies is significantly larger for women with immigrant parents who share same ethnic background than for those with intermarried parents. The fact that the effect of culture is weaker for women who were raised in intermarried families stresses the importance of intermarriage in assimilation process. Our findings imply that government policies targeting labor supply of women may have differential effect on labor market behavior of immigrant women of different ancestries.

Suggested Citation

  • Z. Eylem Gevrek & Deniz Gevrek & Sonam Gupta, 2012. "Culture, Intermarriage, and Immigrant Women's - Labor Supply," Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz 2012-28, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz.
    • Handle: RePEc:knz:dpteco:1228
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    File URL: http://www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/wiwi/workingpaperseries/WP_EGevrek-DGevrek_28_12.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Raquel Fernández & Alessandra Fogli, 2006. "Fertility: The Role of Culture and Family Experience," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 4(2-3), pages 552-561, 04-05.
    2. Francine Blau & Lawrence Kahn & Albert Liu & Kerry Papps, 2013. "The transmission of women’s fertility, human capital, and work orientation across immigrant generations," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 405-435, April.
    3. Alberto Bisin & Thierry Verdier, 2000. ""Beyond the Melting Pot": Cultural Transmission, Marriage, and the Evolution of Ethnic and Religious Traits," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 955-988.
    4. Alberto Alesina & Paola Giuliano, 2010. "The power of the family," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 93-125, June.
    5. Paola Giuliano, 2007. "Living Arrangements in Western Europe: Does Cultural Origin Matter?," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 5(5), pages 927-952, September.
    6. Heather Antecol, 2001. "Why Is There Interethnic Variation in the Gender Wage Gap?: The Role of Cultural Factors," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(1), pages 119-143.
    7. Antecol, Heather, 2000. "An examination of cross-country differences in the gender gap in labor force participation rates," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 409-426, July.
    8. Francine D Blau & Lawrence M Kahn & Kerry L Papps, 2011. "Gender, Source Country Characteristics, and Labor Market Assimilation among Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(1), pages 43-58, February.
    9. Raquel Fernández & Alessandra Fogli & Claudia Olivetti, 2004. "Mothers and Sons: Preference Formation and Female Labor Force Dynamics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(4), pages 1249-1299.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Emma Neuman, 2018. "Source country culture and labor market assimilation of immigrant women in Sweden: evidence from longitudinal data," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 585-627, September.
    2. Vincenzo Scoppa & Manuela Stranges, 2019. "Cultural Values and Decision to Work of Immigrant Women in Italy," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 33(1), pages 101-123, March.
    3. Jamil Al Wekhian, 2016. "Acculturation Process of Arab-Muslim Immigrants in the United States," Asian Culture and History, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(1), pages 1-89, March.
    4. Holger STICHNOTH & Mustafa YETER, 2016. "Cultural Influences on the Fertility Behavior of First- and Second-Generation Immigrants," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(3), pages 281-314, September.
    5. Kamila Cygan-Rehm, 2014. "Immigrant Fertility in Germany: The Role of Culture," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 134(3), pages 305-340.
    6. Sukanya Basu, 2017. "Household labor supply and intermarriage of immigrants: differences by gender," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-25, December.
    7. Adriana Hernández Castañeda & Todd A. Sørensen, 2019. "Changing Sex-Ratios Among Immigrant Communities in the USA," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 20-42, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    culture; immigrant women; intermarriage; labor supply; immigrant assimilation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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