Regional household differentials: structures and processes

Demographic household forecasts are of a very high standard. Further improvements should be looked for in a better understanding of regional differences in household structure and processes. This book provides insight into the background to regional differences in household processes. The author proves that regional differences in age structure are important in explaining differences in household structure, while regional differences in socio-economic structure are important in explaining differences in household processes. These findings are important for possible further advancements in household projection models. The concept of the escalator region is introduced in order to explain the selectivity in migration. An escalator region is an ideal location for people to improve their chances of social advancement. The Randstad region in the Netherlands can be considered an escalator region. People migrate to this region at a younger age, experience social mobility there and then move away at an older age. The findings of this study illustrate that socio-economic differences are important for a better understanding of the background to demographic behavior and migration. These results can be used in the field of projection models and spatial policy.

Leon Crommentuijn (1964) graduated in human geography from the University of Utrecht and commenced his PhD research in 1989 as a member of the Netherlands Graduate School of Research in Demography (PDOD) at the same university. This study was subsidized by the Netherlands Organization for Advancement of Scientific Research (NWO) as part of the Research Program for Population Studies. He is currently a researcher at the research bureau FOCUS Research & Development, Delft, the Netherlands.