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Families in Southeast and South Asia

Author

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  • Wei-Jun Jean, Yeung
  • Desai, Sonalde
  • Gavin W., Jones

Abstract

Southeast and South Asia are home to one-third of the world’s population. Their great economic and cultural diversities make generalization about family patterns and trends hazardous. We review literature on trends in fertility, marriage, divorce, and living arrangements in the past half century. Explanations focus on structural and ideological changes related to socioeconomic development, cultural factors including kinship system, religion and ethnicity, and public policies. While the impact of rapid modernization and related ideational changes are evident, there are also changes, or lack thereof, that cannot be explained by development and may be attributable to historical and cultural factors that have shaped family norms in the region. The following trends are evident: (1) declining fertility and rising age at marriage, although teenage and arranged marriages remain common in South Asia, (2) a majority of elderly continue to live with or are supported by their children, (3) divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing remain relatively rare.

Suggested Citation

  • Wei-Jun Jean, Yeung & Desai, Sonalde & Gavin W., Jones, 2018. "Families in Southeast and South Asia," MPRA Paper 111170, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:111170
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/111170/1/MPRA_paper_111170.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Szoltysek, Mikolaj & Ogorek, Bartosz & Grzyb, Mateusz & Gruber, Siegfried, 2025. "The Patriarchy Index For Asia: A Pragmatic Tool For Cross-Cultural Analysis Of Gender Inequalities," SocArXiv m8f7b_v1, Center for Open Science.
    2. Brauner-Otto, Sarah & Baird, Sarah & Ghimire, Dirgha, 2019. "Maternal employment and child health in Nepal: The importance of job type and timing across the child's first five years," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 94-105.
    3. Yiyue Huangfu & Jenna Nobles, 2022. "Intergenerational support during the rise of mobile telecommunication in Indonesia," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(36), pages 1065-1108.
    4. Fareena Noor Malhi, 2022. "Going beyond the surface: heterogeneous effect of on-site water access for women," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(2), pages 461-491, July.
    5. Angga Bagus Bismoko & Dani Saputra & Najib, 2025. "Intrahousehold bargaining power, intergenerational influence, and women's fertility preferences in Indonesia: insights from longitudinal panel data," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 1-45, September.
    6. Masiran, Ruziana & Ibrahim, Normala & Awang, Hamidin & Lim, Poh Ying, 2023. "The positive and negative aspects of parentification: An integrated review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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