Full Citation
Title: Modernization and Household Composition in India, 1983–2009
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2019
ISBN:
ISSN: 0098-7921
DOI: 10.1111/padr.12293
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Abstract: The modernization hypothesis, classically formulated by Goode ([1963] 1970), predicted that urbanization, industrialization, and educational expansion would cause a worldwide convergence to the Western model of small and nuclear households. Although rejected as a global theory of household change (Bongaarts 2001; Bongaarts and Zimmer 2002; Therborn 2004; Thornton 2005; Ruggles and Heggeness 2008; Ruggles 2009, 2010; Cherlin 2012), this hypothesis remains central to household research in several regions and countries. This is notably the case in India, where the decline or nucleation of the traditional joint household system (Hajnal 1982)1, a paradigmatic case of the modernization hypothesis, has puzzled social scientists for more than a century (Gait 1913; Allendorf 2013). Living arrangements in India have since emerged at a crucial intersection in the study of demography, gender inequality, and intergenerational relationships (Dyson and Moore 1983; Das Gupta 1995; Agarwal 1997; Mookerjee 2019). A growing literature shows that household composition (e.g., whether a young woman resides with her mother‐in‐law, or whether aging parents are cared for by coresiding children) is a key determinant of everyday processes that have far‐reaching sociodemographic consequences—whether in terms of women's autonomy and reproductive health (Jejeebhoy and Sathar 2001; Bloom, Wypij, and Das Gupta 2001; Mistry, Galal, and Lu 2009; Allendorf 2012; Coffey, Khera, and Spears 2016), son preference (Miller 1981; Das Gupta et al. 2003), investments in children (Myroniuk, Vanneman, and Desai 2017), domestic violence (Fernandez 1997; Bhattacharya 2004), and so on. In this research context, understanding how modernization has transformed Indian households becomes even more essential.
Url: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/padr.12293
Url: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/padr.12293
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Authors: Breton, Etienne
Periodical (Full): Population and Development Review
Issue: 4
Volume: 45
Pages: 739-766
Data Collections: IPUMS International
Topics:
Countries: India