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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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    1. repec:osf:socarx:sf6vj_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
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    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Jon P. Knudsen & Ann Camilla Schulze-Krogh & Roger Normann, 2020. "Smart Specialisation—Norwegian Adoptions," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(4), pages 1382-1402, December.
    6. Ahmad, Nuzhat & Khan, Huma, 2016. "Measuring women’s disempowerment in agriculture in Pakistan," IFPRI discussion papers 1512, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. 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.
    8. Etienne Breton, 2019. "Modernization and Household Composition in India, 1983–2009," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 45(4), pages 739-766, December.
    9. Auke Rijpma & Sarah Guilland Carmichael, 2015. "Testing Todd and Matching Murdock: Global Data on Historical Family Characteristics," Working Papers 0072, Utrecht University, Centre for Global Economic History.
    10. Nuzhat Ahmad & Huma Khan, 2016. "Measuring Women’s Disempowerment in Agriculture in Pakistan," Working Papers id:10150, eSocialSciences.
    11. 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.
    12. Luca Maria Pesando & GFC team, 2019. "Global Family Change: Persistent Diversity with Development," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 45(1), pages 133-168, March.
    13. Siegfried Gruber & Mikołaj Szołtysek, 2014. "The Patriarchy Index: a comparative study of power relations across historic Europe," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2014-007, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    14. Platteau, Jean-Philippe & Guirkinger, Catherine, 2019. "The dynamics of family systems: lessons from past and present times," CEPR Discussion Papers 13570, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. 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.
    16. Jennings, Julia A., 2024. "Access to kin, economic stress, and late-life mortality in North Orkney, Scotland, 1851–1911," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    17. 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.
    18. Bram Hogendoorn & Juho Härkönen, 2023. "Single Motherhood and Multigenerational Coresidence in Europe," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 49(1), pages 105-133, March.
    19. 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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