Southeast Asian Families and Pooled Labor : Multiple Wage-Earner Strategies for Refugee Households in the U.S. (Garland Studies in the History of American Labor)

This book analyzes family work strategies among Southeast Asian refugees who entered the United States between 1989 and 1994. Increasing the number of multiple wage-earners in refugee households has been an important focal point of American policy for promoting refugee self-sufficiency. Research indicates the importance of adult children among refugee households, as either secondary earners or alternative wage-earners to the unemployed heads of the household. Their labor force participation and employment rates are higher than those of household heads. These findings are most striking for refugee households which contain unmarried adult children, indicating impressive economic contributions of extended families or non-nuclear family members.
Findings also indicate that fewer children in the household, a larger portion of English-fluent household members, and initial placement outside California are all significantly related to the incidence of multiple wage-earners in Southeast Asian refugee households. The absence of children and the proportion of English-fluent household members are more significant in generating additional wage-earners than in producing one earner in the household.