Demographic responses to short-term stress in a 19th century Tuscan population: The case of household out-migration

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between household emigration and short-term crisis in a mid-19th century rural, Tuscan community. Based on a detailed reconstruction of individual and household life-histories, this study demonstrates the strong association between household emigration and different kinds of short-term stress, whether economic, epidemiologic, or household related. Despite some variations in response in relation to socioeconomic status (SES) - with the poorest strata of society more exposed to price changes and mortality crisis - the death of the household head is revealed as one of the most powerful overriding factors of household emigration.© 2011 Marco Breschi, Matteo Manfredini & Alessio Fornasin.