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Household and family development in the Nordic Countries: An overview

Author

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  • Solveig Glestad Christiansen

    (Department of Economics, University of Oslo, in Oslo, Norway.)

Abstract

There have been major changes to the household and family structure in the Nordic countries during the past 50 years. The number of households has increased much faster than the population, leading to a significant drop in average household size. The reasons are multifaceted including lower fertility, a rise in divorces, more cohabiting relationships - which are less stable than marriages and fewer elderly living with relatives. I will in this article look at the main developments in Nordic household and family structure during the last decades as well as expected future changes, consider different age groups and look at children’s living arrangements.

Suggested Citation

  • Solveig Glestad Christiansen, 2014. "Household and family development in the Nordic Countries: An overview," Nordic Journal of Political Economy, Nordic Journal of Political Economy, vol. 39, pages 1-2.
  • Handle: RePEc:noj:journl:v:39:y:2014:p:2
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    File URL: http://www.nopecjournal.org/NOPEC_2014_a02.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lund, Rikke & Due, Pernille & Modvig, Jens & Holstein, Bjørn Evald & Damsgaard, Mogens Trab & Andersen, Per Kragh, 2002. "Cohabitation and marital status as predictors of mortality--an eight year follow-up study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(4), pages 673-679, August.
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    4. Tomáš Sobotka & Laurent Toulemon, 2008. "Overview Chapter 4: Changing family and partnership behaviour," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(6), pages 85-138.
    5. Andrew Cherlin, 1999. "Going to extremes: Family structure, children’s well-being, and social science," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 36(4), pages 421-428, November.
    6. Iwashyna, Theodore J. & Christakis, Nicholas A., 2003. "Marriage, widowhood, and health-care use," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(11), pages 2137-2147, December.
    7. Solveig Christiansen & Nico Keilman, 2013. "Probabilistic household forecasts based on register data- the case of Denmark and Finland," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 28(43), pages 1263-1302.
    8. Gunnar Andersson & Trude Lappegård & Lisbeth B. Knudsen & Andres Vikat & Kathrin Teschner & Gerda Neyer & Marit Rønsen & Kari Skrede, 2009. "Cohort fertility patterns in the Nordic countries," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 20(14), pages 313-352.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rasmus Højbjerg Jacobsen & Svend E. Hougaard Jensen, 2014. "Changing Age and Household Patterns: Implications for Welfare Costs in Denmark 1982 – 2007," Nordic Journal of Political Economy, Nordic Journal of Political Economy, vol. 39, pages 1-4.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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