Changing paradigm in demography

International audienc

Memory, perception of life and family environment

International audienc

Memory, perception of life and family environment

International audienc

Memory, perception of life and family environment

International audienc

La construcción de principios para el análisis biográfico del grupo familiar

El análisis demográfico de la familia y de los hogares es todavía muy reciente, por lo que la metodología adecuada a ún se encuentra en fase de consolidación. El propósito de este trabajo es , fundamentalmente, el redefinir y clasificar a la familia y al hogar como dos entidades perfectamente diferenciadas, susceptibles ambas de ser analizadas de forma dinámica (análisis longitudinal), lo cual permitirá un esclarecimiento de los comportamientos sociales y demográficos de los individuos como miembros de una familia y componentes de un hogar

Sofa surfers and shed dwellers: new living arrangements and household surveys in the UK and France

Data collection practicalities and the need for meaningful data analysis require a social unit to be defined. The ‘household’ is almost universally used as this unit of survey enumeration. Despite apparent harmonisation, European countries have different interpretations of the definition of private household and there is a clear lack of harmonisation both between surveys and countries. This study aims understand the implications of harmonizing definitions of the ‘household’ for survey data to represent the realities of new and emergent living arrangements in Europe. We explore which new forms of living arrangements and households are captured and / or represented in household surveys and censuses in the UK and France. We use 2 research: in-depth semi-structured interviews with informants involved in the design and production of household surveys and censuses; and, case study households (n=60) in the UK and France, producing qualitative data on living arrangements. We find considerable variation in the extent to which understanding of household meshes with data collected. We identify population sub-groups that are likely to be poorly captured and represented by household surveys, including: people who live temporarily, often as a result of a critical change (eg:divorce), with others (“sofa surfers”); children who are cared for by multiple households; those living in private rented tenancy accommodation or in unofficial accommodation (eg: garden sheds); dual earner couples who live apart during the working week; retired couples living separately each one in their dwelling house; young adults who still live at home with their parents; and, illegal migrants (without residence permit). We illustrate using detailed case studies drawn from our primary fieldwork. Our key informant interviews also point towards ways in which the increasing administration of household surveys using technology (eg: internet-based) might lead to further exclusion of some population sub-groups, or poor information being collected from the

Counting the population or describing society?: a comparison of British and French censuses

Household units are integral for the planning and use of resources by governments, and censuses are an important source of household data in most countries. Some academic consideration has been given to the way in which ‘household’ as a conceptual, statistical and analytical category has been used in social research (Bauman 1999; Beaman and Dillon 2010; Casimir and Tobi 2011; Randall, Coast et al. 2011) particularly in countries of the global South but there remain few examinations of the ways in which the concept of household itself has evolved in Europe, and the implications of this for social science analyses (Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik and Warner 2008). Census data are used by politicians, policy advisors, statisticians, lobby groups and national and international organisations for the planning and allocation of resources, welfare and support. Data collected at household level in population censuses are, therefore – in principle – significant for the promotion of socio-economic health and well-being of people at all levels of society. In order that census data are comparable across time and space (historically and geographically) it is important that we understand if, and how, concepts and definitions change between censuses. This paper compares the conceptualisation of the household via evolving census definitions in England and Wales with a very different statistical tradition found in France. This comparative review of the way in which ‘households’ have been defined in censuses will be used to identify changes in thinking about households and reveal what census designers think is important in the way that a household should be defined – what their preoccupations and priorities are and the extent to which definitions of households can, or should seek to, reflect reality. Insights from the analysis are then situated within the context of goals of harmonisation of statistical tools and concepts. We use two different research methods: first, a review of census documentation (including the census schedules, enumerators’ manuals, training materials, allied and associated paperwork, etc.). The household definitions from census documents are analysed longitudinally to examine how they have evolved since the 1960s and comparatively to examine similarities and differences between countries. Our second method comprises analysis of a series of in-depth interviews (approximately 30 per country) with key individuals situated at different places on the chain of data production (census designers, interviewers, statisticians, policy makers, diverse data users and academics) and were oriented around respondents’ roles in the collection and/or use of household data. Discussion particularly focused on the way in which the “household” is defined and used in censuses. Recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded using Nvivo. The data and analyses are explicitly comparative, both over time (1960s-present) and space (E&W and France). We highlight significant, but subtle, changes in census household definitions over the past half century in England & Wales. Analysis and interpretation of these definitions suggests three key analytic categories, present to varying degrees, in census definitions of the household: sharing of space; sharing of food; and, administrative linkages. In our key informant interviews, several themes emerge. National statistical offices in both settings (ONS and INSEE) influence change (or its absence) in very different ways. Second, there is divergence in the extent to which definitional changes either reflect, or respond to, broader societal changes such as changing living arrangements and family forms. Finally, changing data collection modes (e.g.: online completion of 2011 census in England Wales), might interact with the ways in which households are operationalised. These parallel motivations; reflecting socio-economic changes in the organisation of daily living practices and making the definition easier to interpret by lay-people in order to get data which are as accurate as possible about households (particularly several households within one dwelling) have all influenced the evolution of the household definition over the past 50 years. Whilst it might be expected that household definitions ought to capture the changing ways we live now, the pragmatics of using the definitions dominates