Household Income and Structure for Asians in the United States, 2000

Veena Kulkarni, University of Maryland

One of the notable consequences of the 1965 Immigration Reform Control Act has been the increase in the number of foreign born entrants under the criterion of family reunification. This trend has provoked fears regarding the possible decline in immigrant quality and hence in the socio-economic well being of immigrants. However these concerns have not been addressed adequately since research on the economic experiences of immigrants, has tended to concentrate at the level of the individual. Extended living arrangements may facilitate resource pooling which is supported by empirical evidence for Hispanic households but not for the Asian sub-groups. Asian’s increasing proportions in the US population makes a study of the living arrangements of Asians imperative and timely. This paper seeks to address the questions; what is the incidence of extended living arrangement and whether extended living arrangement is associated with better household economic well being for people of Asian descent.