Richesses et limites du Mouvement de la Population et de l’État civil pour l’étude démographique des zones rurales en Belgique : L’exemple de la nuptialité de 1886 à 1913 = The Strengths and Limitations of the Source « Mouvement de la Population et de l’État civil » for the Study of Rural Areas in Belgium - The Case of Marriage Behaviour Between 1886 and 1913

Costa, Rafael
(2014) Espace populations sociétés — n° 1 (2014)

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  • Costa, RafaelUCLouvain
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(en) The Mouvement de la Population et de l'État civil is a very rich data source which offers new possibilities to the study of the demographic diversity of rural areas in Belgium. In fact, this data source provides yearly information on several demographic variables at the municipality level since the 19th century. However, the use of the raw data has important limitations due to the small numbers: the small population of the municipalities, especially the rural ones, produce inaccurate indicators affected by random fluctuations. The purpose of this article is twofold. On the one hand, it presents the strengths of the data source, and in particular the advantages it offers to the study of Belgian rural areas. On the other hand, it suggests a solution to the small numbers problem, which consists in a simplified territorial division and the use of moving average in order to smooth the time series. The discussion is based on the example of a simple indicator or the timing of marriage.
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Costa, R. (2014). Richesses et limites du Mouvement de la Population et de l’État civil pour l’étude démographique des zones rurales en Belgique : L’exemple de la nuptialité de 1886 à 1913 = The Strengths and Limitations of the Source « Mouvement de la Population et de l’État civil » for the Study of Rural Areas in Belgium - The Case of Marriage Behaviour Between 1886 and 1913. Espace populations sociétés, 1. https://doi.org/10.4000/eps.5649 (Original work published 2014)