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Stem Families and Joint Families in Comparative Historical Perspective

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  • Steven Ruggles

Abstract

This note revisits the author's June 2009 PDR article, “Reconsidering the Northwest European family system.” Using an array of contemporary and historical census microdata from around the world with simple controls for agricultural employment and demographic structure, I detected no significant differences in complex family structure between nineteenth‐century Western Europe and North America and twentieth‐century developing countries. This article adds two new measures designed to detect stem families and joint families. The results suggest that Western Europeans and North Americans have had a long‐standing aversion to joint family living arrangements, and that this pattern cannot be easily ascribed to demographic and economic conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Steven Ruggles, 2010. "Stem Families and Joint Families in Comparative Historical Perspective," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 36(3), pages 563-577, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:popdev:v:36:y:2010:i:3:p:563-577
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2010.00346.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steven Ruggles & Misty Heggeness, 2008. "Intergenerational Coresidence in Developing Countries," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 34(2), pages 253-281, June.
    2. Steven Ruggles, 2009. "Reconsidering the Northwest European Family System: Living Arrangements of the Aged in Comparative Historical Perspective," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 35(2), pages 249-273, June.
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    2. Mikołaj Szołtysek & Bartosz Ogórek & Radosław Poniat & Siegfried Gruber, 2020. "Making a Place for Space: A Demographic Spatial Perspective on Living Arrangements Among the Elderly in Historical Europe," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(1), pages 85-117, March.
    3. Matteo Manfredini & Marco Breschi, 2013. "Living Arrangements and the Elderly: An Analysis of Old-Age Mortality by Household Structure in Casalguidi, 1819–1859," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(5), pages 1593-1613, October.
    4. Albert Esteve & David S. Reher & Rocío Treviño & Pilar Zueras & Anna Turu, 2020. "Living Alone over the Life Course: Cross‐National Variations on an Emerging Issue," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 46(1), pages 169-189, March.
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    8. Akihiko Kato, 2013. "The Japanese family system: change, continuity, and regionality over the twentieth century," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2013-004, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
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    11. Juan-José Boté, 2022. "Theoretical Approach to Enhance Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning Through Montessori Methodology," European Journal of Social Sciences Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 5, ejss_v1_i.
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    13. Pujadas-Mora, Joana-Maria & Brea-Martinez, Gabriel, 2020. "The increasing influence of siblings in social mobility. A long-term historical view (Barcelona area, 16th-19th centuries)," SocArXiv sf6vj, Center for Open Science.
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    15. Siegfried Gruber & Mikołaj Szołtysek, 2012. "Quantifying patriarchy: an explorative comparison of two joint family societies," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2012-017, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.

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