Siblings in a (Neo-)Malthusian Town. From Cross-sectional to Longitudinal Perspectives

Abstract

This paper explores a data base constructed from six population censuses organized in the city of Geneva be- tween 1816 and 1843. We look at cohabitation structures in a sibling perspective. First, we show to which extent cross- sectional data can inform about life course patterns. Second, we examine the transitions from one sibling status to an- other in the next 6 years, and the effect of several demo- graphic, familial, and social variables on transition probabil- ities. Results show how the life of siblings was framed by the interactions between a (neo-)Malthusian demographic regime and a nuclear family system. Population heterogene- ity resulted from the social importance of statistically mar- ginal behaviors, as well as from the coexistence of two sys- tems of leaving home: the socially differentiated one of the siblings who grew up in urban families, and another one of children from rural families who went through Geneva dur- ing their period of life cycle service.