Types of Consensual Union in Argentina between 1995 and 2003: A Biographical Approach

Abstract

In recent decades, Argentina has seen a steady increase in the proportion of extra-marital unions, which has sparked interest in understanding the causes of this phenomenon and its consequences for family organization. One of the few sources allowing one to study the effects of socio-demographic and economic factors on marital behavior is the Permanent Household Survey (EPH), periodically undertaken by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses. The advantage of EPH is that since it is a panel survey, it not only allows one to analyze the characteristics of the population at the time of the survey but also to chart its development during the time it is included in the survey (18th months). This paper used EPH date to estimate the effect of a set of socio-demographic and economic characteristics on the likelihood of living in a consensual union and the probability of turning a consensual union into marriage during the period from 1995 to 2003 in the country’s main urban centers.