Were Multiple Family Households a Means for Economic Success and a better Living Standard in Serbia in the 1860ies?

This contribution starts with an introduction into the topic of joint family households in Serbia, their distribution within the country, and their alleged dissolution in the second half of the 19th century. Data of the population census and the property census of 1863 for eight Central Serbian settlements are used then to analyse the influence of multiple family households on their economic success. The proportions of multiple family households within the classes of property and income are calculated. The results show that these households had higher income and property, but this was an outcome of their larger sizes. Comparing per capita income and property does not yield an advantage for such households. The most important factor for the household’s property value was the agricultural area used for farming and the most important factor for the household’s income was the number of adult men.