Everything about Households totally explained
The
household is the basic unit of analysis in many
microeconomic and
government models. The term refers to all individuals who live in the same
dwelling.
Most
economic models don't address whether the members of a household are a
family in the traditional sense. Government and policy discussions often treat the terms
household and
family as synonymous, especially in
western societies where the
nuclear family has become the most common family structure. In reality, there isn't always a one-to-one relationship between households and families.
Government definitions
For statistical purposes in the
United Kingdom, a household is defined as "one person or a group of people who have the accommodation as their only or main residence and for a group, either share at least one
meal a day or share the living accommodation, that is, a
living room or sitting room"
National Statistics
.
The
United States Census definition similarly turns on "separate living quarters", for example "those in which the occupants live and eat separately from any other persons in the building"
(External Link). A
householder in the U.S. census is the "person (or one of the people) in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented (maintained);" if no person qualifies, any adult resident of a housing unit is a householder. The U.S. government formerly used the term
head of the household and
head of the family to describe householders; beginning in 1980, these terms were officially dropped from the census and replaced with
householder.
The official definition from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_71061.htm is clearer:
"A household includes all the persons who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room that's occupied (or if vacant, is intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live and eat separately from any other persons in the building and which have direct access from the outside of the building or through a common hall. The occupants may be a single family, one person living alone, two or more families living together, or any other group of related or unrelated persons who share living arrangements. (People not living in households are classified as living in group quarters.)"
Economic theories
Most economic theories assume there's only one
income stream to a household; this a useful simplification for modeling, but doesn't necessarily reflect reality. Many households now include multiple income-earning members.
Historical households
In
feudal or
aristocratic societies, a household may include
servants or retainers, whether or not they're explicitly so named. Their roles may blur the line between a family member and an employee. In such cases, they ultimately derive their income from the household's principal income.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Households'.
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