Responding to New Data Demands for Comparative Research and Multilevel Analysis: the Contextual Database of the Generations and Gender Program

The increasing recognition that the study of human behaviors has to take into account the multiple contexts in which they occur has opened a promising research avenue in social sciences. It also presents new challenges, i.e. to complement micro-level surveys with the collection of meaningful contextual data within a common conceptual framework. The international comparative Generations and Gender Program, which is coordinated by the Population Activities Unit of the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Europe, combines a panel survey carried out in various European countries, Japan, and Australia with a comparative contextual database developed as integral part of the program.