must we throw household data in the dustbin ? marc pilon ird / ur105 « savoirs et développement »...
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Must we throw household data in the dustbin ?
Marc PILON
IRD / UR105 « Savoirs et développement »
www.ur105.ird.fr
FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD… DIFFERENT REALITIES
• Family : a concept which is not very clear-cut
• Household : a tool for data collection transformed into a unit of analysis
WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH HOUSEHOLD DATA ?
• Despite different criticisms of the household concept, quite often adequate analysis may produce pertinent results
• Some observations– the kinship link data are more and more neglected in
censuses and surveys – quite poor typologies – weak knowledge about the characteristics of old people
Illustrations of what can be made
with the example of schooling
• Inadequate School Statistics
• Under-used demographic Data (census, surveys)
• Non school data which have a rich analytical potential…
some examples…
• Women Heads of Household Appear to Support Schooling More than Men Do
• Importance of School Migration and the Ambiguity of Fosterage vs. Schooling
Distribution of male students by relation to the Household Head, for each level of education. Burkina Faso, Census of 1996
0
20
40
60
80
100
HH Spouse Son Brother Cousin Nephew Others No link
Primary
Secondary 1st c
Secondary 2nd c
High level
% Males
% of Children 7-12 in school by status in the household, according to sex and area of residence,
for Provinces of Burkina Faso, Census of 1996
0
20
40
60
80
0 20 40 60 80
%
%
Urban - Females
Other Children
HH's children
Ouaga
0
20
40
60
80
0 20 40 60 80
%
%
Urban - Females
Other Children
HH's children
Ouaga
0
20
40
60
80
0 20 40 60 80
%
%
Rural - Males
Other Children
HH's children
0
20
40
60
80
0 20 40 60 80
%
%
Rural - Females
Other Children
HH's children
some examples…
• Household Schooling at the Level
Indices of Schooling for Children Aged 7-12 at the Household Level, by Sex of the Head and Type of
Residence. Burkina Faso, Census of 1996 Urban areas Rural areas Indices
Male Head
Female Head
Male Head
Female Head
TOTAL
Households with at least one child of school age (7-12 years) (in %)
49.2
51.1
59.8
49.4
57.3
Distribution of households by number of children of school age, if any (in %)
1 44.6 57.7 39.4 53.7 41.4 2 35.6 28.9 32.5 34.5 33.0 3 + 19.8 13.4 28.1 11.8 25.6 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Average number of children of school age per household
1.86
1.62
2.06
1.64
2.0
Distribution of households by number of children at school (if any)
All children 49.1 5.4 10.1 19.4 16.7 Some children 23.1 19.1 14.4 13.8 15.7 No children 27.8 26.8 75.5 66.8 67.6 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Households with at least one child in school (7-12 years) (in %)
72.2
73.2
24.5
33.2
32.4
Average number of school age children at school per household
1.14
1.06
0.34
0.44
0.48
IN CONCLUSION…
Should we throw away all studies we have made using household data ?
• Censuses and classical surveys, based on the household unit, will continue for a long time
so, we have to think how to best analyse these data
but recognise their limitations
IN CONCLUSION…• How to go beyond the Household ?
– Take account of the phenomenon of non cohabitation :On Household questionnaires, collect information
about non-resident members, and give them a special code for the residential status
for children…Percentage of HH children at school, by age group and
depending of their residential status
Age Male Female
Group Resident Elsewhere Resident Elsewhere
7-12 37,5 32,9 38,5 30,8
13-16 22,1 29,1 20 19
17-19 7 19,4 10 8,7
IN CONCLUSION…
• How to go beyond the Household ?– Take account of the phenomenon of non
cohabitation between spouses…
For married men, distinguish the total number of wives and the number of wives living with their husband
For married women who are heads of household, important to have information about their husband
IN CONCLUSION…
• How to go beyond the Household ?
– We need specific quantitative studies, in order to show the problems introduced by classical household concept, their implications for social, economic measures…
– Carry out specific surveys based on an appropriate unit, depending on the subject, the objective of the research