Effects of Human Capital Factors on Income and Net Asset Amounts of Older Women

This study uses the 1983 Survey of Consumer Finances to model and test the effects of human capital factors on income and net asset amounts of older women, while controlling for their sociodemographic characteristics. Older women, for the purpose of this study, are 65 years of age and over. Chow test results indicate that disaggregating both income and net asset models to control for marital status increases the amount of variation explained by the human cap ital factors. Additionally, based on Chow test results, specification of the net asset model includes dummy variables to measure the unique effects of human capital characteristics for each age cohort. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression mod els specify educational levels and work history patterns as human capital factors affecting income and net asset amounts of older women. Neither human capital factor affects income for married women. Results indicate that education is the only human capital factor related to income for unmarried older women. Only vocational education, relative to a college education, has a positive effect on net assets for married older women across all age cohorts. For unmarried older women, having a high school education or less, relative to a college education, has a negative effect on net asset amounts. Unmarried women's work history patterns—full‐time continuous, full‐time interrupted, and dual part‐time and full‐ time work—have a negative effect on net asset amounts, relative to never having worked, for the early‐late and middle‐late age cohorts. For unmarried women in the late‐late cohort only the full‐time continuous work history pattern has an effect on net asset amounts. 1990 American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences