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Challenges in moving from macro to micro: Population and family structures in ageing societies

Author

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  • Katharina Herlofson

    (Norsk Institutt for Forskning om Oppvekst, Velferd og Aldring (NOVA))

  • Gunhild Hagestad

    (Norsk Institutt for Forskning om Oppvekst, Velferd og Aldring (NOVA))

Abstract

Assumptions are often made about how population ageing on the macro level has altered generational structures of families at the micro level. The purpose of this paper is to increase the awareness of challenges and potential pitfalls in bridging the two levels. To highlight these issues, two common claims found in the literature are questioned and discussed: that increased life expectancy leads to more multigenerational family structures and that reduced fertility means fewer children to care for frail parents. To illustrate, we use population statistics and survey data from selected countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Katharina Herlofson & Gunhild Hagestad, 2011. "Challenges in moving from macro to micro: Population and family structures in ageing societies," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 25(10), pages 337-370.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:25:y:2011:i:10
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2011.25.10
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    Cited by:

    1. Skopek, Jan & Leopold, Thomas & Posegga, Oliver, 2024. "The historical demography of the multigenerational family: Evidence from crowdsourced genealogies," OSF Preprints sxpaq, Center for Open Science.
    2. Pearl A. Dykstra & Aafke Komter, 2012. "Generational interdependencies in families," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 27(18), pages 487-506.
    3. Riikka Korkiamäki & Catherine Elliott O'Dare, 2021. "Intergenerational Friendship as a Conduit for Social Inclusion? Insights from the “Book‐Ends”," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(4), pages 304-314.
    4. Pearl A. Dykstra & Christoph Bühler & Tineke Fokkema & Gregor Petrič & Rok Platinovšek & Tina Kogovšek & Valentina Hlebec, 2016. "Social network indices in the Generations and Gender Survey," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(35), pages 995-1036.
    5. Allan Puur & Luule Sakkeus & Asta Põldma & Anne Herm, 2011. "Intergenerational family constellations in contemporary Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 25(4), pages 135-172.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender; population aging; generation; family structure; micro- and macro-approaches; multigenerational family structures;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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