Dual Income and Income Smoothing of Informal Sector Working Families in Suppa Subdistrict

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of dual income and income smoothing mechanisms in informal-sector working families in Suppa Subdistrict, Pinrang Regency. The main income of these families relies on husbands working in the informal sector such as fishermen, farmers, laborers, drivers, and odd-job workers whose earnings are volatile and seasonal, while access to formal financial instruments such as savings, credit, and insurance remains limited. This study uses a qualitative approach with a field research design, collecting data through observation, documentation, and in-depth interviews with ten Muslim working women, analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The findings indicate that women's income tends to function as a buffer that helps stabilize household consumption when the husband's income declines due to bad weather, poor harvests, or limited work opportunities. The second income source appears to help families maintain consumption, finance children's education, and meet health needs, thereby supporting household economic resilience. The effectiveness of this buffer, however, depends on whether the wife's work is exposed to the same shocks as the husband's. From an Islamic economic perspective, the informants' own framing of their work as helping the family reflects the principles of cooperation (ta'awun) and partnership (musyarakah) in achieving family welfare (falah). As a qualitative study with a limited number of informants, these findings describe patterns and have not measured income volatility or consumption quantitatively