The Economic Benefits of Domestica Employment: The Case of Mexicans.

Mexican immigrant women in the United States are most likely to be working as domesticas (maids) more so than in any other occupation in the United States. This occupation provides some women with weak ties in which they gain knowledge about the social world of their employers, especially in areas with relatively large Mexican-origin populations. This paper examines the extent to which Mexican immigrant husbands gain economic benefits from their wives' employment as domesticas. Data from the 2000 5% Public Use Microdata Sample are used to conduct the analysis. The results indicate that there are no statistically significant differences in hourly wages between Mexican immigrant husbands whose wives are employed as domesticas and their counterparts whose wives are employed in other occupations. However, we find a significant interaction effect between domestica employment and the relative size of the Mexican population in the area of residence. As such, Mexican men whose wives are employed as domesticas and who live in areas with a greater presence of Mexicans have higher hourly wages than do their counterparts. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]