Nuptiality patterns in an agrarian society

Summary

The paper deals with the non-European marital pattern and its determinants in an agrarian society before the onset of deliberate fertility decline. A wide range of patterns, from very early and almost universal to late marriage, existed among the populations of European Russia at the end of the nineteenth century. The analysis confirmed a close association, particularly between marital behaviour and socio-economic institutions. Scarcity of labour relative to land, the principle of landholding and land usage according to the amount of labour in the extensive type of family, and an equal-heir inheritance system were found to be conducive to early and common marriage. The spatial differentiation of marital patterns was found to be due to regional modifications in the above institutions, the degree of literacy, size of rural settlements, industrial and urban development, and the sex composition.

Many of the ideas in this paper originated at the Office of Population Research at Princeton University, during the academic year 1970–71, while studying and conducting research under Professor Ansley Coale. I am further indebted to Professor Coale for making available the fertility and nuptiality data I used, and grateful to him for reading and commenting on a draft of this paper. Thanks are due to Professor Warren W. Eason for sharing knowledge, statistical data and literature on the subject. I am grateful to Professors Donald 0. Parsons, and David Shapiro for helpful comments. I, of course, take full responsibility for the views presented in this paper and any shortcomings it may have. This paper has been written with the partial support of the National Institutes of Health, Research Contract N1H-70-2191.

Many of the ideas in this paper originated at the Office of Population Research at Princeton University, during the academic year 1970–71, while studying and conducting research under Professor Ansley Coale. I am further indebted to Professor Coale for making available the fertility and nuptiality data I used, and grateful to him for reading and commenting on a draft of this paper. Thanks are due to Professor Warren W. Eason for sharing knowledge, statistical data and literature on the subject. I am grateful to Professors Donald 0. Parsons, and David Shapiro for helpful comments. I, of course, take full responsibility for the views presented in this paper and any shortcomings it may have. This paper has been written with the partial support of the National Institutes of Health, Research Contract N1H-70-2191.

Notes

Many of the ideas in this paper originated at the Office of Population Research at Princeton University, during the academic year 1970–71, while studying and conducting research under Professor Ansley Coale. I am further indebted to Professor Coale for making available the fertility and nuptiality data I used, and grateful to him for reading and commenting on a draft of this paper. Thanks are due to Professor Warren W. Eason for sharing knowledge, statistical data and literature on the subject. I am grateful to Professors Donald 0. Parsons, and David Shapiro for helpful comments. I, of course, take full responsibility for the views presented in this paper and any shortcomings it may have. This paper has been written with the partial support of the National Institutes of Health, Research Contract N1H-70-2191.