Title:
The Changing South European Family

Abstract:
By Manuela Naldini and Teresa Jurado

A scrutiny of the long period of family changes in southern countries (Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal), shows that most of the demographic changes (fertility decline, increasing divorce rates, and so on) occurred 10-15 years later than in other European countries.

Is there a process of convergence toward similar family patterns across European states? Are the changes in the Southern European family different?

This paper argues that most of the demographic trends and family changes in Southern Europe since the 60’s have been different not only in their timing but also in the pattern and in the trajectories of family changes observed in the region. The existing theoretical perspectives cannot explain the persistence of family particularities in the South, nor the cross national differences in family trends. To overcome these theoretical problems, in this paper we take an institutional perspective and posit the existence of a Southern European Family Model which is deeply rooted in a particular southern configuration between family, state and market relations.

The paper is divided into two parts. The first part illustrates, from a comparative perspective, changes and continuities in family formation, living forms pluralisation and family solidarity. These changes are related to women’s silent educational revolution, to their increasing employment and to the slow weakening of patriarchy. The second part deals with the relationship between state and family and its evolution over time. The nature of this relationship is captured through the analysis of the division of responsibility between the family and the state in the area of reproductive and care work, and the way in which this division of responsibility has been codified by social policy and laws.