Research Group
Kinship Inequalities
At a Glance
Projects
Publications
Team
Detailed Description
© iStockphoto.com/JamesBrey
Kinship constitutes a fundamental and universal dimension of social organization. Everyone is embedded in kinship structures, just as everyone experiences birth and death. At the same time, the extent to which individuals can draw on these structures varies substantially across populations, over the life course, and over historical time.
The term “kinship inequalities” refers to differences in the presence, availability, and resources of kin. These inequalities are shaped by demographic processes as well as by socioeconomic stratification and prevailing social norms. For instance, increases in life expectancy have extended the period during which grandparents and grandchildren coexist. While this may create opportunities for intergenerational support that benefit children, parents, and older adults alike, such advantages are not evenly distributed, as they depend on underlying differences in mortality, fertility, and migration regimes across groups.
The Research Group on Kinship Inequalities, funded by the Max Planck Society, aims to advance the study of kinship demography by combining formal demographic modeling with empirical data analysis. Its work focuses on how variation in kinship structures across individuals and groups influences life course experiences, and ultimately contributes to broader patterns of social organization.
The group has three main objectives:
- To investigate kinship inequalities by integrating established demographic approaches with new data sources, methodological tools, and computational techniques;
- To enhance our understanding of population dynamics by incorporating kinship-based perspectives; and
- To contribute to the training and development of scholars working in the field of kinship demography.
Although kinship has long been a central concern in demography, and particularly within analytical family demography, its broader analytical potential remains underexploited. Applying a kinship perspective to a wider set of social phenomena opens up new avenues for research. The group’s work is organized around four substantive areas: (i) kin availability, intergenerational overlap, and transfers; (ii) the experience and distribution of kin loss and bereavement; (iii) the impact of demographic change on family structures; and (iv) the implications of these processes for families and societies more generally. These questions are increasingly pressing as family forms become more heterogeneous and complex, extending beyond biological ties and spanning national boundaries.