Persistent marriage regimes in changing times

Abstract

Marriage among women in Latin America occurs early in life and is nearly universal in spite of the social and economic changes and instability in the region. We use demographic measures to illustrate the precociousness, persistence, and universality of marriage during the past 50 years. We argue that marriage is central to social life because families serve as an important cultural institution for countering the vicissitudes of the economy. Women's roles within families and households are key, as has been illustrated by the growth of literature on household survival strategies during the 1980s and 1990s, when the region experienced widespread economic crisis and restructuring.

First conjugal union and religion: Signs contrary to the Second Demographic Transition in Brazil?

“…These two aspects are connected, as countries with an earlier age of entry into first union tend to also have a higher proportion of informal marriages (Castro Martin 2002;Fussell and Palloni 2004). The early age of entry into the process of Latin American family formation has been explained by, among other reasons, the strong presence and role of family ties in promoting economic and social stability.…”

The Rise of Cohabitation in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1970–2011

“…As argued by Fussell and Palloni ( 2004 ) ages at fi rst union remained remarkably stable throughout the second half of the twenthieth century and show a surprisingly low elasticity to such economic disturbances. The authors assert that economic conditions accelerated the fertility decline, but that, " as it has been for many centuries, the marriage and kinship system in Latin America continues to provide a system of nonmonetary exchange that parallels rather than competes with market systems ."…”

“…Several Previous research reveals a remarkable rise of the share of consensual unions among all unions, and this rise most probably already starts during the 1960s in a number of countries (Fussell and Palloni 2004 ), involving both countries with an initially very low incidence of cohabitation and countries with higher levels. The The results that will be reported from here onward stem from the extensive analysis of the harmonized Latin American census microdata samples available at IPUMS international (Minnesota Population Center 2014 ).This analysis uses as many census rounds between 1970 and 2010 as possible (see Appendix Table 2.8 ).…”

“…First, the more precise nature of the "robustness" of Latin American families to the economic shocks of hyperinfl ation in the 1980s, as perceived by Fussell and Palloni ( 2004 ), lies in the fact that co-residence with parents or others remains the rule for single mothers, and also remains very common for both cohabiting and married couples without children. And second, there is a caveat with respect to the Latin American convergence to the pattern of the "Second demographic transition" (SDT).…”

Cohabitation: The Pan-America View

“…Fussell and Palloni 2004 ;Esteve et al 2013 ;Castro-Martín and Juarez 1995 ). Also, improvements in education were not accompanied by an expected overall tempo shift in fertility.…”