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Ties that Bind: Cultural Interpretations of Delayed Adulthood in Western Europe and Japan 1
Author(s) -
Newman Katherine S.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
sociological forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.937
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1573-7861
pISSN - 0884-8971
DOI - 10.1111/j.1573-7861.2008.00089.x
Subject(s) - independence (probability theory) , welfare , order (exchange) , sociology , western europe , demographic economics , welfare state , economic geography , political science , economics , politics , law , statistics , mathematics , finance , european union , economic policy
Throughout the developed world, young adults hit hard by declining labor market opportunities and rising housing costs have been staying in the natal home. Particularly hard hit are the weak welfare states of southern Europe and Japan, while the social democracies have continued to support the residential independence of young people at very early ages. This article considers the divergent cultural interpretations of this pattern of “delayed departure” in order to show that the same demographic configurations may be coded quite differently.