Income and Consumer Expenditures of Households The Food Situation of Families Maintained by Single Mothers: Expenditures, Shopping Behavior, and Diet Quality Mark Lino and Joanne Guthrie Alcohol Consumption in America: An Overview Consumer Debt and Home Equity Borrowing Displaced Workers Limited Opportunity Farm Households Recent Legislation Affecting Families Data Sources Charts From Federal Data Sources Journal Abstracts and Book Summary Income and Consumer Expenditures of Households Headed by Hispanic and Black Elderly Women By F.N. Schwenk Family Economics Research Group Among the elderly, females are more likely than males to be poor. Minority females are more likely than White females to be poor. Using 1989-91 Consumer Expenditure Survey data, this study reports incomes and expenditures of Hispanic, Black, and White consumer units with a female reference person or spouse 65 years or older. The average income of Black households was $11,872; Hispanics, $16,570; and Whites, $18,932. Expenditures of Black and Hispanic households were also substantially lower than those of White households. On average, Black households spent 62 percent and Hispanic households spent 87 percent as much as White households ($17,154). On an average per capita basis, Blacks spent 53 percent and Hispanics spent 72 percent as much as Whites ($10,211). Since Black and Hispanic elderly women have a substantially lower level of income and expenditures than White women, they may merit special attention from policymakers and educators who are interested in the well-being of elders. A Ithough the poverty rate among the elderly has declined from 29 percent in 1966 to 12 percent in 1991 (5), the poverty rates of elderly persons who are women and from minority races and origins are much higher. Elderly women are more likely than elderly men to be poor. Sixteen percent of women 65 years or older are poor, compared with 8 percent of men. Elderly minority women are more likely than elderly White women to be poor. Thirty-nine percent of elderly Black women and 25 percent of elderly Hispanic women are poor (9). Census data show that the median income of Black women ($5,059) 65 years or older was only 65 percent that of White women ($7,816); Hispanic women's income ($4,992) was 64 percent that of elderly White women (1). Current demographic trends indicate The percentage of elders who are Black declined during the last decade because the proportion of elderly men who are Black decreased. Black women remained at 8.1 percent of the population of elderly women. Because elderly minority women are more likely to be economically vulnerable than other elderly people and because they are an increasing proportion of the population, their economic status is of interest and concern. Therefore, this study will compare the economic status of Black and Hispanic female elders with that of White female elders using consumer expenditures as a measure of economic status. Source of Data Data for this study are from the interview component of the 1989, 1990, and 1991 Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CE is an ongoing survey that collects data on household expenditures, income, and major socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. A national sample of consumer units' is interviewed once each quarter for five consecutive quarters; the first interview is used only for bounding purposes. Using a rotating sample design, about one-fifth of the sample is replaced each quarter. Each year of CE data contains information from about 20,000 quarterly interviews. A consumer unit consists of either: (1) all members of a particular housing unit who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangements: (2) two or more people living together who pool their incomes to make joint expenditure decisions; or (3) a person living alone or sharing a household with others or living as a roomer in a private home or lodging house or in permanent living quarters in a hotel or motel, but who is financially independent. To be considered financially independent, at least two of the three major expense categories (housing, food, and other living expenses) have to be provided by the respondent. In this paper, the term household refers to consumer unit. Income data are annual, and quarterly expenditure data are multiplied by four to provide estimates of annual expenditures. The data are weighted to represent the U.S. noninstitutionalized population. For this study, 3 years of data were used to provide an adequate sample size of Hispanic women. Since the CE survey was of the civilian noninstitutionalized U.S. population, women in nursing homes3 or similar institutions were not interviewed. Only consumer units with a female reference person* or female spouse were selected; thus, women 2Even with 3 years of data, the numbers of Asian or Pacific Islander and American Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo consumer units were too small for analysis. "Six percent of women 65 years or older live in nursing homes (7). *Reference person is the first member mentioned when the respondent was asked to "start with the name of the person or one of the persons who owns or rents the home." 65 years or older living in the homes of their children or others were not included. Also, units with a male reference person without a spouse were excluded since the focus was on elderly women. There were 10,007 consumer units with a woman 65 years or older who was the reference person or was married to the reference person. Of these, 281 were Hispanic, 856 were Black, and 8,668 were White women. For the subgroup of elderly women who live alone, 97 were Hispanic, 393 were Black, and 3,853 were White. In 13 percent of consumer units with a woman 65 years or older, the woman is living with her children, siblings, or nonrelatives as a consumer unit (7). Characteristics of Households Headed by Elderly Women Family Type Hispanic and White women over age 65 were more likely than Black women to be married (table 2). Almost half had a husband, whereas less than one-third of Black women were married. Being married often confers economic benefits including Social Security and the retirement benefits of the husband (6). Black women were most likely to live alone; 47 percent lived alone. They were also more likely than the other women to have others, such as children or siblings, live with them. Hispanic women were least likely to live alone and White women were as likely to live with a husband as alone. Region Half of the Black women and nearly half of the Hispanic women lived in the urban South. Few Hispanic or Black women were in rural areas. White women were distributed somewhat equally in the four regions and rural areas. The concentration of Hispanic and Black women in the southern region permits targeted efforts for education and family service programs for these women. Age of Woman Hispanic women were more likely to be in the 65-74 age category. Sixty-nine percent of elderly Hispanic women were in this age range, compared with 59 percent of Black and White women. Education of Woman Hispanic women were less educated than Black or White women. Twothirds had an eighth-grade education or less, compared with half of Black and about one-fourth of White women. Thus, all educational programs and enrollment forms for participation in public assistance programs (such as food stamps) should be presented in a manner appropriate for an education level well below eighth grade. Hispanic women may have added difficulty if their primary language is Spanish. Income About half of Hispanic and Black women had household incomes less than $10,000, compared with 30 percent of White women. On the other end of the scale, 14 percent of Hispanic women and 13 percent of White women reported income of $30,000 or more. Some elderly women may have lived in households where someone was employed. Forty percent of Hispanic and Black families had an earner, compared with 28 percent of White families. Housing Tenure Home ownership is a major asset among elderly families. A smaller percentage of Hispanic families owned a home: 60 percent of Hispanic, 65 percent of Black, and 79 percent of White families were owners. Also, about half of the Hispanic owners were still paying on their mortgage. Vehicles Ownership of vehicles is not only an asset, it also allows easier access to community resources, markets, and services. Almost half of the Hispanic and Black families did not own a vehicle, compared with 22 percent of White families. Income Sources Households headed by Black women had an average income of $11,872, which was the lowest of the three groups. The income was $16,570 for Hispanics and $18,932 for White households (table 3). The relative importance of various sources of income was quite different for each group. Hispanic families were less likely than Black or White families "Twelve percent of the consumer units did not give complete reporting of their income so are not included in this analysis of income sources. 452 to receive Social Security. Only 86 percent received Social Security, compared with 93 percent of Black families and 96 percent of White families. Hispanic women or their spouses may have worked in jobs that were not covered by Social Security or they may still be working so they have not yet applied for Social Security benefits. Thirtynine percent of Hispanic households reported income from public sources (SSI, welfare, food stamps, and other). Thirty-six percent had earnings or had someone in the household who reported earnings. |