Abstract
The article examines the useability of several theories as a basis for demographic research. Two criteria are applied: the resolution of the agent-structure dilemma and the scope for taking account of the unequal balance of power between the sexes. After discussing established demographic approaches, the ’theory of practices’ is introduced, developed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. It is argued that his concepts of ’habitus’, ’field’, and ’capital’ offer a deeper insight into the realization of behaviour. Further application of these concepts in demographic research may improve our understanding of demographic behaviour. The contribution ends with a proposal of how Bourdieu’s concepts can be operationalized, especially the concept of ’habitus’.
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Keuzenkamp, S., Frinking, G. (1996). Bourdieu’s ’Theory of Practices’: a challenge for demographic research. In: van den Brekel, H., Deven, F. (eds) Population and Family in the Low Countries 1995. European Studies of Population, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1641-8_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1641-8_6
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