[Households will no longer have a head].

A new procedure adopted in France for the 1982 census is described. "In the 1982 census, unlike preceeding ones, the INSEE [Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques] no longer leaves the choice of a head at the discretion of households. The Institute will itself designate a statistical representative [reference person] under the new terminology and according to a systematic rule. This step eliminates a certain inaccuracy which was potentially problematic for certain surveys. The rule for designating the reference person is based on simple criteria and takes into account the main trends observed in the spontaneous declarations of households. If...used in the 1975 census, it would have resulted in the designating of the same representative in 96% of cases." (summary in ENG, SPA)