The Explanation of Ideology: Family Structures and Social Systems

Testing Todd and Matching Murdock: Global Data on Historical Family Characteristics

“…Todd also makes some sweeping simplifications, for example lumping much of Africa together into one system classification, and at times he only gives scant attention to the evidence underlying his classification. On the other hand, many of the reviewers also suggest that his ideas deserve to be further tested (Kiernan 1990;Kertzer 1988;Greenhalgh 1987;Roseberry 1990). Todd's use of strict categories, classification of macro-regions, and claims of deep historical roots is also in disagreement with some of the findings in historical demography (see Szołtysek 2012 for an overview).…”

Historical family systems and contemporary developmental outcomes: what is to be gained from the historical census microdata revolution?

“…7 For all its undeniable attractiveness (especially its apparently global hatch), Todd's classification displays important deficiencies among which the uncertainty about the empirical sources of his reconstructions, misleading classification of some countries, putting a premium on the 'cultural ideal' rather than actual practice in family behaviours, are likely to be critical for the accuracy of his representations of family patterns (cf. Greenhalgh, 1987). The way Todd constructed his data has been commonly held to originate from inspection of 1960-1970s population censuses, which he confronted with historical record 'to arrive at data that was meant to capture pre-industrial yet persistent family characteristics' (Rijpma & Carmichael, 2016, p. 14).…”