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Social change and family change in a Central European urban context: Rostock 1819-1867

Author

Listed:
  • Mikołaj Szołtysek

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Siegfried Gruber

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Rembrandt D. Scholz

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Barbara Zuber Goldstein

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

Abstract

This study is informed by competing perspectives on family behaviour in periods of turbulent social change, and intends to provide some fresh insights into the effect of macro-level changes on micro-level processes involving the family. In this pilot study, we take our first step towards analysing the impact of developing urban-industrial life on the family system in the northern German city of Rostock. A variety of quantitative approaches are employed to capture long-term changes in household structure and composition, household formation rules and patterns of leaving home in this historic Hanseatic community in two census years, 1819 and 1867. Overall, we can observe rather stable patterns for both the 1819 and 1867 censuses, with only small shifts away from more “traditional” towards more “modern” patterns of the family. Interestingly, the persistence of the family pattern in Rostock rested primarily on the continuity of nuclear family-centred patterns of co-residence. We were neither able to find evidence of a significant deterioration in the traditional pattern of the extended-family household, nor could we prove that a progressive nuclearisation of the family in Rostock took place between 1819 and 1867.

Suggested Citation

  • Mikołaj Szołtysek & Siegfried Gruber & Rembrandt D. Scholz & Barbara Zuber Goldstein, 2009. "Social change and family change in a Central European urban context: Rostock 1819-1867," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2009-039, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2009-039
    DOI: 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2009-039
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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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    3. repec:cai:poeine:pope_704_0729 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Francesco C. Billari & Dimiter Philipov & Pau Baizán Munoz, 2001. "Leaving home in Europe: the experience of cohorts born around 1960," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2001-014, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    5. Das Gupta, Monica, 1999. "Lifeboat versus corporate ethic: social and demographic implications of stem and joint families," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 173-184, July.
    6. Mendels, Franklin F., 1972. "Proto-industrialization: The First Phase of the Industrialization Process," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(1), pages 241-261, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Siegfried Gruber & Rembrandt D. Scholz, 2016. "Fertility in Rostock in the 19th Century," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2016-001, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    German Empire; family demography; historical demography; urban population;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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