Race and the Effect of Family Status among Male Agricultural Laborers.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan's thesis that males in low income black families do not adequately meet the economic demand of their nuclear families was examined by investigating the effects of marital and parental status positions on male agriculture workers' earnings. Comparisons of these effects by race were also made to see how the earnings of black male workers compared with the earnings of white male workers. Generally the findings showed that black males earn more if they have a wife and child (or children). The effect of the marital position on earnings was significantly lower for blacks than for whites, however. No difference was found in the case of the parental position. In spite of minor differences by race, we conclude that the findings question Moynihan's thesis, since higher earnings were associated with the black males' family status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]