Family Farm Transactions in Norway: Unpaid Care Across Three Farm Generations

Abstract

This paper focuses on practical transitions in three generations of contemporary Norwegian farm couples. With their tightly interconnected relationships, farm families present a unique opportunity for studying bounding and transitions across generations. The main hypotheses of the paper are that different generations of genders within farm couples will exhibit differences in their distribution of caregiving (H<sub>1</sub>), practical help is still transferred across generations (H<sub>2</sub>), and that childcare and caregiving of the elderly promotes feelings of ambivalence amongst those involved (H<sub>3</sub>). Empirical implications are tested against 2002 data from a representative sample of Norwegian farm couples and a qualitative sample of three generational farm families. Analyses indicate that living arrangements with, and relationships amongst, family members across generations are closely bound up with general modernisation processes. The results of the analyses suggest that members of traditional farm families seem to be most sensitively attuned to one another.