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What insights can studies of son preference in Asia offer European historical demographers? Research on Asia is far easier than on historical Europe, given the scope for in-depth studies of a contemporary phenomenon instead of using available historical data. Levels of sex-selection have also been high in Asia, which makes it easier to analyze its correlates. This enables developing hypotheses that might be useful in studies of historical Europe. Studies in Asia indicate that, in rigidly patrilineal societies, son preference forms part of households' strategy for managing their assets and risks. The extent of sex-selection varied enormously over time within a given setting, rising sharply when households faced heightened risk --- such as war, or the unwinding of Communist regimes that offered communal access to resources --- and decreasing as modern state pension systems mature. These household strategies also affect the life-chances of other household members, including marriage restriction to reduce asset fragmentation. Kinship systems shape the rights of different categories of household members and the norms of cooperation between them — including between generations, spouses, and siblings of different genders and birth orders. This paper offers some hypotheses on the implications of variations in patrilineal kinship systems in Europe for the life-chances of different categories of household members. For purposes of constructing hypotheses that can be tested if data permit, the European kinship systems are contrasted in a stylized way, as those based on a 'lifeboat' ethic of jettisoning non-heirs from the household, versus those based on a more 'corporate' ethic in which the household seeks to support all its members. Historical demographers working on Europe have rich fields to explore, given the region's diversity: of kinship systems, of economic opportunities, and of exposure to major risks such as wars, famine, and the establishment and dis-establishment of Communism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrimination towards females – a trait of regional demography so far deemed unique to Asian countries – has inspired historians to revisit demographic series to look for instances of gender imbalances within Europe. In this paper, we show why a proper appreciation of Europe's experience of gender discrimination in the past may help us to understand the future of contemporary sex selection throughout Asia. We stress in particular how the demographic discrimination of females appeared to have vanished during the 20th century from all areas where it was reported earlier. We examine the main factors that may explain the gradual disappearance of the 'missing girls' from Europe. We finally discuss the best ways to identify the potential micro- or macro-mechanisms accounting for the transformations observed in Europe, using, in particular, the distinct trajectories of countries in Southeastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on how constructions of 'the migrant family' in political discourse influence migrants' and their families' lives. In specific national contexts, 'the migrant family' is determined according to the national and European debates and expressed by their respective rules and regulations. By 'doing family', migrants and their families develop strategies in order to fit these requirements of living a certain family life. Fulfilling specific norms and perceptions which are not necessarily required for the majority of society is a precondition to succeed. Who is and who is not part of the family, who holds responsibility — such aspects have to be proved and repeatedly reproduced by migrants and their families. This not only affects their position in society, but also has strong implications on their lives as a couple and family, since it requires the continuous adaptation and reconstructions of their everyday reality. ☆ Elisabeth Strasser, Albert Kraler, Saskia Bonjour and Veronika Bilger are researchers at the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in Vienna. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors only, and not those of ICMPD as a Vienna-based intergovernmental organization or of its member states. This paper is based on preliminary results of the comparative research project 'Civic Stratification, Gender, and Family Migration Policies in Europe', funded by the Austrian Ministry of Science (node — research programme) from 2006–2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family systems appear to be an important factor framing people's individual behavior. Thus far, family systems have been primarily addressed on a macro regional level with indirect measures. Revisiting Reher (1998) and the family ties criterion, the main question of this paper is to examine to what extent we perceive family structures differently in Europe by taking direct measures of the structures of people's broader social networks into consideration. Based on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we derived two indicators of family regimes based on individual-level data regarding the density of ego social networks: contact frequency and geographic proximity among network members. We aggregated these data and mapped them on the NUTS 2 level regions for various locations in Europe. The results of our analyses exhibit that, based on these two network indicators, significant differences in family structures between European regions exist. These results confirm the classification of strong family Southern and comparatively weaker family Northern European regions to a large extent, though substantial regional differences in and between countries are also revealed. Our findings demonstrate that the classification of European regions largely depends on which indicator of network density we consider. This is particularly obvious in the Eastern European regions where the classification markedly differs according to the type of network indicator. Intriguingly, social networks in Central European regions can be characterized as rather loose, often even looser than the ‘traditional’ weak ties in Scandinavia. Family regimes can, therefore, be regarded as a construct of multiple dimensions of which one dimension may be classified as weak while the other can be strong at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]