Antonio López-Gay

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

This chapter offers a general overview of the often spectacular rise of the share of cohabitation in the process of union formation in 24 Latin American and Caribbean countries during the last 30 years of the twentieth and the first decade of the twenty-first century. First, we offer a brief ethnographic and historical sketch to illustrate the special position of many Latin American regions and sub-populations with respect to forms of partnership formation other than classic marriage. Second, we present the national trends in the rising share of cohabitation in union formation for men and women for the age groups 25–29 and 30–34. Third, we inspect the education and social class differentials by presenting the cross-sectional gradients over time. Fourth, we reflect on the framework of the “second demographic transition” and hence on the de-stigmatization of a number of other behaviors that were equally subject to strong normative restrictions in the past (e.g. divorce, abortion, homosexuality, suicide and euthanasia). Last, we deal with the household and family contexts of married persons and cohabitors respectively.

Cohabitation in Brazil : historical legacy and recent evolution

The availability of the micro data in the IPUMS samples for several censuses spanning a period of 40 years permits a detailed study of differentials and trends in cohabitation in Brazil than has hitherto been the case. The gist of the story is that the historical race/class and religious differentials and the historical spatial contrasts have largely been maintained, but are now operating at much higher levels than in the 1970s. During the last 40 years cohabitation has dramatically increased in all strata of the Brazilian population, and it has spread geographically to all areas in tandem with further expansions in the regions that had historically higher levels to start with. Moreover, the probability of cohabiting depends not only on individual-level characteristics but also on additional contextual effects operating at the level of meso-regions. The rise of cohabitation in Brazil fits the model of the “Second demographic transition”, but it is grafted onto a historical pattern which is still manifesting itself in a number of ways.

The Boom of Cohabitation in Colombia and in the Andean Region: Social and Spatial Patterns

In this chapter we use census microdata to document the rise in cohabitation in Colombia and in the Andean countries of Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela over the last four decades. We use multilevel logistic regression models to examine the effect of individual and contextual variables on cohabitation. We show the individual and contextual effects of social stratification, ethnicity and religion on cohabitation. Cohabitation levels follow a negative gradient with education and vary according to ethnic background. The Bolivian, Ecuadorian and Peruvian censuses reveal that the two largest ethnic groups (i.e. the Quechua and Aymara) have, controlling for other characteristics, the lowest incidence of cohabitation. By contrast, Afro-American populations show the highest levels of cohabitation. The joint use of individual- and contextual-level explanatory variables is sufficient to account for the majority of Bolivia’s internal diversity regarding cohabitation, but not sufficient to account for the internal diversity identified in Colombia, Peru or Ecuador. Even after controls, residence in the Andes mountain areas continues to be a factor associated with lower levels of cohabitation. This invites further investigations on how the institutionalization of marriage occurred in the Andes.

Ser migrante en la Barcelona de 1930. La inmigración valenciana en el barrio de la Barceloneta

In 1930, more than half of the Barcelona population (56%) had been born outside the city. Although internal migration of that period has been studied, there is no specific research on its most important origin: the Valencian born migrants. The aim of this work is to improve our knowledge about the living conditions and the level of integration of this group in Barcelona in 1930. For this purpose, we analyze: (i) The distribution of Valencia born migrants in Barcelona. (ii) The main sociodemographic characteristics and the the level of socio-labour integration of this group living in La Barceloneta neighbourhood. This is done by focusing on the timing and the reasons behind their movement to Barcelona. Results point out a relatively good social integration –compared with other migratory groups– that did not depend on the period of arrival. We suggest, however, it is linked to the maintenance of strong ties of peasantry.

A Geography of Cohabitation in the Americas, 1970–2010

In this chapter, we trace the geography of unmarried cohabitation in the Americas on an unprecedented geographical scale in family demography. We present the percentage of partnered women aged 25–29 in cohabitation across more than 19,000 local units of 39 countries, from Canada to Argentina, at two points in time, 2000 and 2010. The local geography is supplemented by a regional geography of cohabitation that covers five decades of data from 1960 to 2010. Our data derive primarily from the rich collection of census microdata amassed by the Centro Latinoamericano y Caribeno de Demografia (CELADE) of the United Nations and from the IPUMS-international collection of harmonized census microdata samples (Minnesota Population Center, Integrated public use microdata series, international: Version 6.3 [Machine-readable database]. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 2014). Our analyses unveil a substantial amount of spatial heterogeneity both within and across countries. Despite the spectacular rise in cohabitation, its regional patterning has remained relatively unchanged over the last decades, which points to the presence of geo-historical legacies in the present patterns of unmarried cohabitation.

The Expansion of Cohabitation in Mexico, 1930–2010: The Revenge of History?

In this chapter we use census microdata to examine trends in cohabitation in Mexico between 1930 and 2010. The microdata reveal a dramatic increase in cohabitation since the 1990s. By being able to go further back in time than in the other countries examined in this book, we better document the phase that preceded the post-1990 cohabitation boom. This earlier phase was characterized by the systematic reduction in cohabitation in favor of marriages, which results in an overall U-shaped evolution of cohabitation for the entire period between 1930 and 2010. Judging from the mere cross-sectional profiles and results from multilevel models, one could conclude that recent cohabitation replicates historical differentials. However, several features emerge that strongly mitigate this historical inheritance and fits the Second Demographic Transition theory. Among others, these features include that cohabitation is now a “normal” form of partnership among the expanding top educational groups and that the shift from marriage to prolonged cohabitation is driven by further secularization and an overall shift in values. Time will tell how fast and to what degree the shift to the SDT-type will be occurring in Mexico, but at present it is clear that the shift away from the traditional type is under way.