Abstract
This chapter documents the transformation of rural families through an examination of two of the most important changes in American family life—changes in family structure and changes in women’s employment and family breadwinning—from 1970 to 2009, using Current Population Survey (CPS) data. Particular attention is paid to variations between families living in rural areas, central cities, and suburban places. We identify trends in marriage and divorce, the rise in single motherhood, and decreased fertility. Additionally, we examine the rising diversity of families resulting from increased educational attainment and greater female labor force participation. Finally, we discuss the implications of these changes in family structure and family employment patterns for income inequality and poverty. Over time, we find that rural families increasingly resemble urban families, but important differences remain.
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- 1.
This was particularly true for white, middle-class women but there have been historical variations in these patterns. For example, black women have historically had high labor force participation rates, even after the birth of a child (see, for example, Jones, 2010).
- 2.
We analyze 1970, 1990, and 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS) data (1970 and 1990 March Supplements and 2009 Annual Social and Economic Supplement data) to document change in families residing in rural, suburban, and central city places. The CPS is a nationally representative sample of American households and collects demographic, economic, and employment information. We analyze both the individual (with analyses including all respondents age 18 and over, and the total population) and family data (with analyses including all families and subfamilies with a household head 18 and over). Dollar values are inflated to 2009 using the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator. Comparisons presented in the text are statistically significant at the 0.05 level. The term “rural” and nonmetropolitan are both used to refer to persons or families living outside the officially designated metropolitan areas. Central city refers to those residing within metropolitan areas inside the central core, and suburban refers to those residing within metropolitan areas outside the central core. Those living in areas not identified by the US Census Bureau for reasons of confidentiality are not included in the analysis by place. Metropolitan residence is based on Office of Management and Budget delineation at the time of data collection.
- 3.
Population pyramid data for central cities and suburban areas for 1970 and 2009 are available upon request.
- 4.
Although substantively similar, the difference between rural (13.3%) and central city (13.2%) places is statistically significant given large sample size.
- 5.
- 6.
Our analyses differ from the Raley et al. (2006) analyses in several ways: our estimates (a) are place-based, (b) report estimates using earnings rather than income, (c) include both primary and secondary families, and (d) include couples with neither spouse employed. Our estimates for 1990 and 2009 are not substantially different from the Raley et al. (1990) and (2001) estimates. However, we report lower levels of husbands as sole providers and higher levels of husbands as primary providers in 1970 compared with the Raley et al. (1970) estimates, but the general trends are the same.
- 7.
Dollar values are inflated to 2009 using the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator; substantive earnings differences are discussed.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Jessica Bean and Michelle Stransky for research assistance. This work was supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and anonymous donation.
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Smith, K.E., Mattingly, M.J. (2012). Rural Families in Transition. In: Kulcsár, L., Curtis, K. (eds) International Handbook of Rural Demography. International Handbooks of Population, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1842-5_17
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