This study examines the situation of elderly people and various aspects of demographic aging before and during the demographic transition. The analysis is based on the macro-level data of mortality figures calculated from nineteenth- and twentieth-century censuses and vital statistics, as well as on a representative sample (the Mosaic database) of individual-level data from the 1869 Hungarian census. Following the disambiguation of the concepts of individual and demographic aging, the study examines the concept of the latter. In Hungary, the onset of this process can be traced to the late nineteenth century, although the elderly did not constitute a major demographic group until the mid-twentieth century. The elderly population in 1869 was predominantly male and skewed toward the younger age groups. Marital status showed sharp gender differences: more men were married, while widowhood was more typical among women. Few elderly people lived alone or shared a household with more than one married child. Men, especially landowners, often held onto their role as heads of household, and typically passed it on around age of 70, as their health declined. Widowed women usually became and remained heads of household, but more of them cohabited with relatives or even in unrelated households. As major epidemics subsided, mortality among the elderly began improving in the nineteenth century, with another wave of improvement between the two World Wars. While life expectancy increased only modestly, survival rates improved significantly, suggesting a major shift in the prospects of the elderly.

In the framework of the international MOSAIC project the authors have taken a sample for the historic Kingdom of Hungary consisting of more than 30,000 persons and 6,000 households. Sampling was based on territorial differences and denominational distribution in order to assure (to the extent possible) economic and cultural multiplicity. In the course of this analysis the authors tried to reveal the determinants of household structure. They pointed out that a large majority (around 70 per cent) of households was of simple structure, that is to say consisted of one single nuclear family. At the same time, the percentage of multiple-family households (about 14 per cent) was also considerable besides that of extended-family households (ten per cent). The higher frequency of more complex household forms could be linked to the sex and age of the household heads. Female heads’ and older heads’ higher chances of living together with married relatives was proved both by descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis. This result shows that household structure was a dynamic phenomenon which changed considerably over time. Socio-occupational status appears to be a decisive factor. First of all, landowner status was linked to a much higher frequency of more complex household forms, which can be explained by the higher labour force demand of farming compared to other professions. Multivariate analysis confirmed the marked regional variety concerning household structure, but altered the weight of one or another region somewhat, thereby revealing the role of composition effect. Denominational differences remained in the course of the multivariate analysis, but the odds ratios showed weak effects. Considering the results with respect to the Hajnal model further conclusions can be drawn. First and foremost, strong spatial differences do not follow a West–East axis. Second, the decisive role of occupation and social position, the possible role of farming and land use, and subsequent and varied labour force demands of households (besides ethno-cultural features) can be all considered new evidence. This confirms the necessity of searching for alternative approaches to better understand the mechanisms and influencing factors of household formation.

Nincs absztrakt.

This study addresses the fundamental questions of the modes of household formation (size and structure of households) and the demography of marriage (age at first marriage, proportion of the non-married) in the mixed-ethnicity historical county of Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun, in two time frames (in the 1770–80s and the end of the nineteenth century). The parts of the analysis concerning the eighteenth century are based on settlement-level data in the soul-conscriptions (Conscriptio Animarum) of Pest county (1774–1783) and the census of Joseph II (1785). The section on the nineteenth century is based on data ranked by settlements in the 1890 population census. The data of the Joseph II cadastral register (1789), as well as the confessional, ethnic and vocational data of the population census of 1900 are used as reference variables. Published parish register data of the settlements of the county are used to analyse the intensity of the number of marriages. Our aim is to distinguish between basic types of household formation and marriages in both periods in a county, which can be considered a representative sample in various aspects (varied ethnicity, religion and geographical settlement types). Groups of settlements were formed by means of multi-variable mathematical-statistical analysis (cluster analysis) for both periods on the basis of the available settlement-level census data and the resulting variables. These groups are considered as the basic types of household formation and marriage patterns. Our research question is whether there are discernible patterns of marriages and household structure in the period and geographical region in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Pest county. Our results suggest that the simplified dichotomous model of European marriage pattern is not acceptable. On one hand, this county is home to both ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ models of marriage and houshold structure. On the other hand, there was a number of transitory types between the two models, the ethnocultural interpretation of which is not fully satisfactory either. While the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century migration does mix ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ ethnicities, and their demographic behaviour is often rather diff erent, different ethnic groups can behave similarly too. In addition, marriage patterns were significantly infl uenced by other factors, such as settlement types, religion, migration, and the industrialisation and urbanisation processes of the second half of the nineteenth-century. Moreover, marriage is only one element of demographic behaviour. The marriage types discussed here are likely to have been part of various rational demographic strategies.

Nincs absztrakt.