Economic Support from and to Extended Kin: A Comparison of Mexican Americans and Mexican Immigrants 1

This article explores the prevalence of economic exchanges with extended kin within the Mexican-origin population in the United States. Data from the 1990 U.S. Census and the 1990 Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Latino Sample are employed to compare the characteristics of those contributing income to and receiving income from coresident extended relatives and extended family members in other households. The results suggest that immigrants, particularly recent immigrants, are more likely to participate in exchanges with relatives both within and beyond their household. There is a life course dimension to these exchanges. Mexican Americans, who are more likely to live in extended family households consisting of multiple generations, engage in economic exchanges from older adults to younger adults. Mexican immigrants, who are more likely to live with relatives at similar stages of the life course, are more likely to exchange resources with these kin in other households as well.