1.3 Population challenges and opportunities

Question 1

What changes in population did HICs experince during the 20th century?

Answer 1

-Average family size and

-The proportion of people surviving to an older age, giving rise to the phenomenon of an ageing population

Question 2

What changes did LICs and middle-income countries experience in the 20th century?

Answer 2

-Changing social attitudes towards the role of women in society.

-This has affected the sex ratio of some societies.

Question 3

What is an ageing population?

Answer 3

A population structure where the proportion of people aged 65 and over is high and rising.

Question 4

What causes an ageing population?

Answer 4

Increasing life expectancy and can be further exaggerated by the effect of low birth rates.

Question 5

An ageing population is also called a ___

Answer 5

‘Greying’ population

Question 6

What is the sex ratio?

Answer 6

The relative proportions of men and women in a society’s population

Question 7

In what countries is life expectancy now 80 years or higher?

Answer 7

Japan, Iceland, Italy, Australia, Germany, and many other countries

Question 8

How is the proportion of eldely citizens expected to change in HICs as opposed to in MICs?

Answer 8

In the future, the proportion of elderly citizens in developed countries will grow higher still, while most middle-income countries will also begin to experience the effects of widespread ageing.

Question 9

Example of how the number of elderly people in society is expected to change in the future

Answer 9

Globally, the number of older persons aged over 60 is expected to exceed the number of children aged under 15 for the first time by around 2050, helped significantly by the long-term legacy of China’s one-child rule (which left the world’s largest nation of 1.3 billion people with its own greying ‘time-bomb’).

Question 10

Causes of an ageing population

Answer 10

-Increasing life expectancy (exacerbated by low birth rates)

-Migration

Question 11

Example of how migration can be a cause of an aging population

Answer 11

-When Poland joined the European Union in 2004, the total number of Polish emigrants living overseas rose quickly from 2 million to 3 million.

-Out-migration of the young has accelerated the rate at which Poland’s population is aging; loss of the young means that those who are not make up a larger proportion of a shrunken population.

Question 12

What are some of the concerns for governments of countries with an aging population?

Answer 12

-Meeting the cost of economic care

-Emotional burden on younger and middle-aged people

Question 13

Explain how one of the challenges of an ageing population can be meeting the economic cost of care for the elderly

Answer 13

-The elderly often no longer generate much wealth themselves

-Potentially enormous amounts of money must be made available for the elderly’s day-to-day living expenses, health treatments and housing costs.

Question 14

Example of how one of the challenges of an ageing population can be meeting the economic cost of care for the elderly

Answer 14

Japan’s healthcare and nursing home costs by 2025 are expected to be almost US$1 trillion.

Question 15

Explain how one of the challenges of an ageing population can be the emotional burden on younger and middle-aged people

Answer 15

Rising longevity is placing an emotional burden on younger and middle-aged people who must increasingly act as (unpaid) carers for older relatives who have developed Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia.

Question 16

How have the causes of death changed thanks to improvements in healthcare?

Answer 16

-Fewer people now die in their 60s and 70s from cancer, heart diseases or strokes.

-Instead, more people now survive into their 80s and 90s, ages at which vulnerability to degenerative brain diseases and disorders becomes greatly increased.

Question 17

What is the downside of the fact that more people now develop degenerative brain diseases?

Answer 17

-Many young people are totally unprepared for the role reversal that will occur in later life when, instead of being cared for by their parents, the situation is reversed.

-Moving relatives to a care home may help make life more manageable, but the effects of Alzheimer’s are still upsetting to witness in a loved one.

Question 18

Explain ageing population challenges at the local scale

Answer 18

-The issues are amplified further at the local scale sometimes.

-In countries where homes and services for the elderly are funded by local taxes levied on working people, districts with an unusually high proportion of elderly face the most severe financial challenges.

Question 19

Example of ageing population challenges at the local scale

Answer 19

In the UK, for instance, many coastal settlements have high proportions of older people living there as a result of age-selective migration.

Question 20

Benefits of an ageing population

Answer 20

-Continued employment into old age

-Jobs as actors

-Jobs as politicians

-Involvement in charity and caring for grandchildren

Question 21

Benefits of an ageing population- continued employment into old age

Answer 21

-Many elderly people who have worked in skilled occupations such as banking, teaching or medicine continue to work into their 70s and sometimes 80s.

-They may serve as consultants, providing valuable advice to younger staff, perhaps on a part-time basis.

Question 22

Benefits of an ageing population- jobs as actors

Answer 22

Older actors are always needed to play film parts – for example, Dumbledore (played by Michael Gambon) and other older Hogwarts teaching staff in the Harry Potter films.

Question 23

Benefits of an ageing population- jobs as politicians

Answer 23

In politics, the billionaire Donald Trump was elected as US President at the age of 70.

Question 24

Benefits of an ageing population- involvement in charity and caring for grandchildren

Answer 24

-Elderly people often make a range of contributions to society by assisting with the running of charities and good causes.

-Some assist their own families by providing free childcare for grandchildren, thereby allowing both parents to participate in the workforce.

Question 25

Why is it important to note that the very idea of an ‘elderly population’ aged over 65 is increasingly an over-simplification?

Answer 25

There is usually a great difference – in terms of physical health, stamina and the ability to continue generating income – between highly active people in their 70s and far more infirm people aged 90 and over.

Question 26

How have family sizes changed over time?

Answer 26

-In most countries, women now give birth to fewer than three children on average.

-This has had the effect of reducing the average size of a family.

-In the past, it was usual to find two parents sharing their home with up to six or more children in European, Asian and South American countries.

-Today this is far less common and a typical nuclear family comprises between three and five individuals living under the same roof.

Question 27

What social changes have led to a reduction in the average family or household size (other than women having less children)?

Answer 27

-Fewer instances of extended families living together

-Elderly people living on their own

-Divorce

-Gay rights

Question 28

Explain how fewer instances of extended families living together is a social cause of the reduction in average family/household size

Answer 28

-In many high-income countries, it is less common now to find older people living with their children and grandchildren.

-The extended family (where three generations live together) has become largely a thing of the past in some places.

-Government support in the form of pensions and healthcare has meant older people can remain independent and no longer need to rely on their children to support them in old age, thus, they may continue to live alone.

Question 29

Explain how elderly people living on their own is a social cause of the reduction in average family/household size

Answer 29

-In some high-income countries, including the UK, many older people own their houses outright because they bought them at a time when prices were lower.

-The cost of remaining there is therefore low.

-In Europe, an increasing number of elderly widows aged 85 and over live alone in homes they own.

Question 30

Explain how divorce is a social cause of the reduction in average family/household size

Answer 30

Divorce has become more socially acceptable in a growing number of countries, resulting in a larger number of single-parent households.

Question 31

Explain how gay rights are a social cause of the reduction in average family/household size

Answer 31

-Improved rights for lesbian and gay people include the right to marry in an increasing number of countries, including Ireland and Brazil.

-Although some couples have children, more will form two-person households.

Question 32

A common feature of age–sex pyramids is an excess of ___

Answer 32

Male births over female births

Question 33

Natural cause of the imbalance in ratio of boys to girls born

Answer 33

The naturally occurring ratio is 105 boys born for every 100 girls (this imbalance reflects chromosome variations in sperm).

Question 34

Why is the ratio of male to female children more skewed (than the naturally-occuring ratio) in some societies?

Answer 34

-Sex-selective abortion (which is made possible by modern technology allowing couples to discover the gender of a foetus at an early stage of pregnancy)

-Female infanticide (the killing of unwanted new-born female babies, also called gendericide, which sadly still happens in some parts of the world).

Question 35

Table showing countries with a skewed sex ratio, showing significantly more males than females

Answer 35

Question 36

What does the favoring of boys over girls typically reflect?

Answer 36

-The uneven status of men and women in many societies, especially among older age groups.

-This can be the product of an antiquated legal system that does not allow women to inherit land or wealth.

Question 37

Examples of 2 countries with skewed sex ratios

Answer 37

China and India

Question 38

Reasons for the skewed sex ratio in China

Answer 38

-In the past, there was a very strong cultural preference for boys in China.

-The country’s one-child rule – which was introduced in 1980 – led quickly to the growth of a highly unbalanced population pyramid.

-In very poor rural areas, rates of female infanticide were sometimes very high.

-An extreme boy:girl ratio of 4:1 was recorded in some rural counties in the years immediately after the rule was introduced, reflecting the pressing need felt by many poor farming families to gain a male heir.

Question 39

What has China’s most recent census revealed about the sex ratio?

Answer 39

That there were 115 males for every 100 females in China as a whole (the actual figure may have been even higher owing to some additional males births going unreported).

Question 40

Statistic showing the skewed sex ratio in India

Answer 40

In India’s Daman and Diu region, there are 1,000 men for every 618 women according to one report.

Question 41

What action has India taken to deal with its skewed sex ratio?

Answer 41

-India’s government has long recognized the problem of unbalanced births.

-In 1994, it passed the Prohibition of Sex Selection Act that prohibits medical professionals from informing expectant mothers of the sex of their foetus.

-This law is not always upheld, however.

Question 42

Statistic showing the skewed sex ratio in India

Answer 42

In India’s Daman and Diu region, there are 1,000 men for every 618 women according to one report.

Question 43

Examples of population management policies (broad)

Answer 43

-‘Carrot’ (reward) and ‘stick’ (fine or punishment) policies have been used to reduce or increase birth rates in different contexts.

-Economic measures are needed to deal with the challenge of rising elderly dependency; these may be accompanied by other legislation in relation to the retirement age.

-Policies designed to encourage gender equality and improved rights for women may also have the indirect effect of reducing a society’s fertility rate.

Question 44

Examples of small steps taken by some governments to plan for the ‘demographic time bomb’ (aging societies)

Answer 44

-Minor adjustments to the retirement age

-Encouraging workers to invest more of their earnings in personal pension schemes

-Stimulating public discussion on whether families should do more to care for older relatives.

Question 45

What is the problem with small steps taken by policies to plan for an ageing population?

Answer 45

-The measures introduced so far in countries like Germany, the UK and Japan fall far short of what is needed.

-Governments do not want to raise taxes for younger workers; nor do they want to upset older voters by raising the retirement age too high or too fast.

-As a result, it remains unclear how many states will be able to fund services for the elderly through taxation by mid-century.

Question 46

Challenges of an ageing population in Poland

Answer 46

Poland’s government has recently acknowledged that its whole state pension system will become unsustainable unless people are prepared to work longer.

Question 47

Reasons why Poland’s whole state pension system will become unsustainable unless people are prepared to work longer

Answer 47

-Pension costs, at 12 per cent of GDP, are already huge. Part of the problem is early retirement, with many people stopping work before they reach 60.

-The current shortfall in taxes to pay for pensions: Poland has lost millions of young workers in recent years. Since it joined the European Union in 2004, the total number of Polish emigrants living overseas has risen from 2 to 3 million.

-Although some migrants send home money as remittances, this does not compensate the government for the taxes it might have raised if more of its citizens had remained at home.

Question 48

Reaction to Polish government warning that it might need to raise the retirement age

Answer 48

Angry crowds gathered in front of parliament where some set fire to pictures of ministers.

Question 49

Global interactions between national governments to find ways to deal with an ageing population

Answer 49

-Increasingly, national governments are working together to tackle the ageing population challenge.

-The leading G8 group of nations met in December 2013 to discuss the challenge of dementia and how best to coordinate their efforts to tackle it.

-After their summit meeting, the G8 announced its plans to develop a coordinated international research action plan to target gaps in medical research.

Question 50

Examples of civil society and businesses coping with an ageing population

Answer 50

-Swiss TNC Unilever, the world’s biggest food and drinks company, is modifying its packaging and products with the elderly in mind: this includes making wrappers easier to open.

-German supermarket chain Kaiser has adapted many of its stores in ways that appeal to older shoppers. This includes brighter lighting, non-slip floors and extra-wide aisles that mobility scooters can navigate easily.

Question 51

Future consumer spending growth in most high-income countries will be driven increasingly by ___

Answer 51

-Older people.

-More and more businesses are adapting their products and services accordingly.

Question 52

What do pro-natalist policies aim to do?

Answer 52

Raise the national fertility rate

Question 53

Examples of countries that have adopted pro-natalist policies that aim to raise the national fertility rate

Answer 53

-Poland

-France

Question 54

Pro-natalist policies in Poland

Answer 54

-Part of the Polish parliament’s response to its ageing population problem has been new legislation that pays women for each child they have in an effort to boost the country’s falling population.

-Under the scheme announced in 2015, every woman receives a monthly payment of 500 zlotys (around US$150) per child (some economists are unconvinced Poland’s government will be able to meet the cost of this policy, however).

Question 55

Pro-natalist policies in France

Answer 55

-Many European countries make monthly child allowance payments to families.

-In 2015, French mothers received the equivalent of around US$150 per child per month (excluding their first child).

-Concerned with underpopulation, the French government first introduced cash payments for children during the 1930s.

-In the decades after the Second World War, France had the highest child allowances in Europe, often accounting for around 30 per cent of a family’s income.

Question 56

What is civil society?

Answer 56

-Any organization or movement that works in the area between the household, the private sector and the state to negotiate matters of public concern.

-Civil society includes non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community groups, trade unions, academic institutions and faith-based organizations.

Question 57

Define underpopulation

Answer 57

A state of imbalance where there are too few people relative to the resources a nation possesses to make effective use of them, lowering quality of life for all as a result.

Question 58

Define overpopulation

Answer 58

-A state of imbalance where there are too many people relative to the resources a nation possesses.

-The resulting unemployment and insecurity threatens everyone’s quality of life.

Question 59

What do anti-natalist policies aim to do?

Answer 59

Curb population growth and prevent overpopulation from occuring

Question 60

Example of an anti-natalist policy

Answer 60

China’s one-child rule

Question 61

When was China’s one-child rule in place?

Answer 61

From 1980 to 2016

Question 62

China’s real population vs. what it might have been without the one-child policy

Answer 62

-With 1.35 billion people living there in 2015, China is one of the world’s two most populated countries (India is the other).

-Without the one-child rule, it is estimated that China’s population might have risen to 1.7 billion, with potentially disastrous consequences.

Question 63

Historical reasons for China’s one-child rule

Answer 63

-A devastating famine was linked with the deaths of 25 million people between 1959 and 1961, however.

-Following this, China’s leaders came to believe that the country now had too many mouths to feed; increasingly strict rules began to dictate how many children could be born in China.

Question 64

How did fines for breaking the one-child policy change over time?

Answer 64

-Initially, the rule stipulated that all couples, whatever their circumstances, could have one child only.

-If people disregarded the policy and had a second child, they were fined US$4,000.

-This represented a lot of money for poor Chinese families and only very affluent couples could afford to pay.

-Additional sanctions were used: if a state official had a second child then he or she would lose their job.

Question 65

How did China’s one-child policy change after around 2005?

Answer 65

-The rule was softened progressively.

-Two babies were permitted for people under certain circumstances e.g. people living in the countryside; parents whose first child was a girl; parents whose first child had been born with a disability; parents whose only child was killed by the major earthquake in Sichuan Province in 2008

Question 66

Negative impacts of China’s one-child rule

Question 67

What was the outcome of China’s one-child rule?

Answer 67

-The gradual relaxation and eventual abolition of the one-child rule in 2016 reflected the fact that its goal had been achieved.

-In fact, fears of overpopulation have been replaced by the rising challenge of a ‘top-heavy’ population pyramid with a high dependency ratio.

-This means that more births may be required in the future, rather than fewer.

Question 68

China’s projected population structure in 2025

Answer 68

Question 69

Example of how pro-natal or anti-natal policies that can have implications for gender equality can be controversial

Answer 69

-For instance, the Polish government’s decision to pay women to have more children has been attacked by gender equality campaigners who say it encourages the stereotyping of women as ‘stay-at-home mothers’.

-The Congress of Women, a women’s lobby group, has said the proposal will discourage Polish women from working and strip them of their financial independence.

Question 70

Alongside the one-child rule, China’s government has tried to change ___

Answer 70

Social attitudes (the way people think)

Question 71

How has greater gender equality lowered the fertility rate in many societies?

Answer 71

By removing the imperative for couples to produce a son who will inherit the family’s wealth or name.

Question 72

What did the one-child rule’s terrible side effect of female infanticide prompt China’s government to do?

Answer 72

-To fund education campaigns to bring about social change.

-In some rural districts, attempts were made to re-educate prospective parents using posters bearing the slogan ‘daughters are as good as sons’ – the hope being that fathers might learn to think more positively about having a girl as their only child.

Question 73

What factors (other than infanticide) have played a positive role in changing social attitudes towards gender in China?

Answer 73

-Economic development and rising property prices

-The presence of strong female role models in China

Question 74

Explain how economic development has played a positive role in changing social attitudes towards gender in China

Answer 74

-Economic development and rising property prices have helped erode Chinese society’s traditional preference for sons by increasing the cost of raising a male heir.

-Traditionally, Chinese families who could afford to would buy a property for their son before he was allowed to marry.

-Soaring housing prices in China’s major cities have made this an expensive tradition to maintain.

Question 75

Explain how the presence of strong female role models has played a positive role in changing social attitudes towards gender in China

Answer 75

-Many of China’s wealthiest individuals are women who run their own businesses, such as Zhang Yin, the head of a recycled paper company, whose personal fortune amounted to US$4 billion in 2015.

-Eight out of 10 of the world’s very richest ‘self-made’ women are Chinese.

-Topping the list in 2015 was ‘touchscreen Queen’ Zhou Qunfei (founder of Lens, a company which makes touchscreens for mobile devices).

Question 76

Gender equality policies in Scandinavia

Answer 76

-In Sweden, paid parental leave is 480 days, which is for both parents.

-For women especially, this means they take some time off to focus on childbearing and parenthood, all with the security that their career will still be there when they go back to it.

-This allows women to combine work and family.

Question 77

Why is human trafficking a highly gendered form of crime?

Answer 77

Because victims are overwhelmingly female

Question 78

Where did female victims of human trafficking found in the US come from?

Answer 78

66 countries in different regions (e.g. China, Mexico, and Nigeria)

Question 79

What is human trafficking?

Answer 79

-The illegal transportation and/or exploitation of people or human parts.

-It may take place where the person lives or may involve relocation within the country or across national borders.

Question 80

What is usually the purpose of human trafficking?

Answer 80

It is usually for the purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation

Question 81

What activities does human trafficking cover?

Answer 81

-Forced labour (modern-day slavery)

-Sexual slavery or commercial exploitation

-Forced marriage

-Extraction of organs such as kidneys and/or tissue (surrogacy, removal of a woman’s ova, or eggs).

Question 82

Statistics about human trafficking

Answer 82

-In 2014, forced labor generated US$150 billion in profit.

-In 2012, 21 million victims were trapped in modern-day slavery

Question 83

Example of government taking action against human trafficking

Answer 83

-In 2014, the UK launched the Modern Slavery Strategy.

-It consisted of four parts:

1) Pursue (prosecute trraffickers)

2) Protect (the monitoring of supply chains to ensure transparency)

3) Prepare (support those who have been trafficked via care contracts)

4) Prevent (advertising campaigns to inform potential victims of trafficking)

Question 84

Why are there benefits of population growth?

Answer 84

-Because a larger ‘pool’ of people is likely to produce more truly exceptional individuals who will innovate and design in unanticipated ways that benefit everyone else enormously.

-Another advantage of a large population is the sizeable labour force that can help a country to industrialize.

-People are the human resources that allow domestic industries to thrive or act as a magnet for foreign investors.

-Much of China’s ‘economic miracle’ can be attributed to the enormous size of its cheap labour force.

Question 85

Define human resources

Answer 85

The working-age people found in a place who can generate wealth with the skills and capabilities they possess (dependent on their educational levels, the languages they speak and their capacity to innovate and invent).

Question 86

It is not just population SIZE that matters; economists and geographers are interested in the benefits brought by a particular type of ___

Answer 86

Population structure

Question 87

What is the demographic dividend?

Answer 87

A short-term demographic benefit that is ‘cashed in’ by a country when it moves from stage 2 to stage 3 of the DTM

Question 88

‘Bulge’ in population puramid during the early decades of stage 3 of the DTM

Answer 88

-A ‘bulge’ develops in the population pyramid between roughly the ages of 15 and 35.

-These are the more youthful and energetic cohorts of the working-age population.

Question 89

The ‘bulge’ that develops during the early decades of stage 3 of the DTM is a product of the ___

Answer 89

-Time lag of demographic transition: declining infant mortality (occurring immediately following improvements in health, hygiene and food supply during stage 2) is only followed later by a fall in the number of births (because moral codes governing birth control and sexuality are at first resistant to change).

-The population pyramids for Angola and Vietnam show this. In Angola (stage 2), women still give birth to six children and the dependency ratio remains high with many young dependants, whereas Vietnam (stage 3) has recently gained a low ratio of very young dependants compared with working-age groups.

Question 90

Significance of the DD in Asia

Answer 90

-The DD played an important role in the emergence of the ‘Asian Tiger’ economies during the 1960s and is one reason for China’s fast growth in recent decades.

-In such cases, the movement of large, youthful cohorts into working age, accompanied by falling births, boosts economic and social development.

Question 91

Why does the movement of large, youthful cohorts into the working age, accompanied by falling births, boost economic and social development? (demographic dividend)

Answer 91

-A large, young workforce serves as a powerful magnet for ‘footloose’ global capital

-Workers with fewer children begin making investments, contributing to financial growth

-Women become more likely to enter the formal workforce, promoting greater gender equality

-Salaried workers quickly become consumers; so global retailers and media corporations view these countries as important emerging markets (MTV and Disney are targeting India in particular).

Question 92

Which types of countries are more recently beginning to enjoy their own demographic dividend?

Answer 92

Emerging economies in Asia, Latin America, and increasingly, Africa.

Question 93

Recent DD in Asia- example

Answer 93

Indonesia is currently cashing in a major demographic dividend (66 percent of its 240 million people are of working age and 90 percent are literate)

Question 94

Recent DD in Latin America- example

Answer 94

-Brazil began to enjoy its demographic dividend around 2000; today, it is home to 130 million working-age people out of a total of 192 million.

-In Colombia, just 33 per cent of the population is dependent; and with a literacy rate of 90 per cent, the future looks promising.

Question 95

Recent DD in Africa- example

Answer 95

-South Africa is beginning to profit from the demographic dividend.

-Mauritius, Morocco and Algeria recently experienced falling fertility.

Question 96

What does the demographic dividend look like in developed countries?

Answer 96

Developed countries, generally, enjoyed the demographic dividend a long time ago, with exceptions.

-Ireland experienced a late decline in fertility in the 1980s that delivered a demographic dividend in the 1990s (its ‘Celtic Tiger’ growth phase).

-The USA, where a relatively large influx of younger immigrants has provided an extended demographic dividend, is an important reminder that migration shapes population structure too.

Question 97

Why is a demographic dividend not always delivered when population structure changes?

Answer 97

Some countries fail to make the most of their human resources because of other factors:

-poor education

-poor governance that doesn’t allow for economic growth

-government corruption e.g. Egypt & Tunisia

-political instability

-youthful out-migration

Question 98

Explain how some countries fail to make the most of the demographic dividend because of poor education

Answer 98

A large working-age population is a wasted opportunity if numeracy and literacy are weak (a concern for some Indian states, where primary and secondary education performance is poor).

Question 99

Explain how some countries fail to make the most of the demographic dividend because of poor governance that doesn’t allow for economic growth

Answer 99

-Good governance is essential.

-Performance of the manufacturing and tertiary sector is determined by economic policies that affect levels of free trade, entrepreneurial activity and inward investment.

-Providing a framework for growth remains a challenge for some countries (notably Pakistan, according to the British Council).

Question 100

Give an example of how some countries fail to make the most of the demographic dividend because of government corruption

Answer 100

In Egypt and Tunisia, where government revenue was, until recently, allegedly siphoned off for the benefit of a small ruling clique, ordinary people received little in the way of ‘trickle-down’ benefits from their own demographic dividends.

Question 101

Explain how some countries fail to make the most of the demographic dividend because of political instability

Answer 101

-Political instability jeopardizes the climate for long-term investment.

-Asian ‘success stories’ have experienced generally greater political stability (albeit sometimes in non-democratic forms) than parts of Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.

-Today, erratic and unpredictable rule can be a powerful deterrent for global capital.

Question 102

Explain how some countries fail to make the most of the demographic dividend because of youthful out-migration

Answer 102

Youthful out-migration, as in Mexico, may jeopardize receipt of the demographic dividend.

Question 103

The demographic dividend is, at best, a ___ benefit only.

Answer 103

Temporary

Question 104

Explain why the DD is, at best, a temporary benefit only

Answer 104

-Once several decades have passed, a large number of older workers cease working.

-With fewer young workers to fund care for the elderly, the dependency ratio begins to rise again, this time involving retirement costs (a ‘demographic debt’) rather than childcare expense.

Question 105

Give an example of how the demographic dividend is a temporary benefit

Answer 105

-Japan moved through the demographic transition ahead of other Asian nations and benefited from a demographic dividend and economic boom in the 1960s, must now pay for an increasingly elderly population.

-By 2030, we will know if China, whose recent demographic dividend and ‘economic miracle’ owe so much to the 1979 one-child rule, can afford to do the same.

Question 106

India’s imminent demographic dividend is one important reason for its new ___

Answer 106

‘Superpower’ status

Question 107

What population changes occurring in India mean that it has an imminent DD?

Answer 107

Until recently, a dependency ratio close to 0.6 had slowed the country’s growth. Now, falling fertility means that by 2030 it could be as low as 0.4. This will mean a higher proportion of population contributing to economic output (and with fewer children to look after, more women entering paid employment).

Question 108

On account of which population changes is the future theoretically bright for India? (DD)

Answer 108

-In 2020, its median age was 28. That means a growing pool of buyers for goods and services and a growing middle class.

-India’s giant labour force could attract foreign investors who are deterred by rising wages in China (manufacturing labour costs there are nearly four times higher than in India).

Question 109

Why may India fail to take advantage of the imminent demographic dividend?

Answer 109

-The literacy rate is around 74 percent (compared with 97 percent in China). Without improvement, this threatens India’s economic development: large numbers of young workers may lack the skills needed to find well-paid employment and contribute to national economy growth.

-India’s government has been criticized for its rules and ‘red tape’, which have sometimes deterred foreign investors. In some industrial sectors, TNCs are obliged legally to work in partnership with a local Indian company if they want to gain market access: not all companies are prepared to work in this way.

-As a result, political and social factors could mean that India fails to catch up with China despite its increasingly favourable demographic characteristics.

Question 110

What are the benefits of a demographic dividend?

Answer 110

-Increased proportion of the population in the independent age range –provides a larger work force, increase in economic growth, potentially a largermarket, increase in tax returns

-Falling fertility rates –more women enter the workforce, boosting gender equity, lower proportion of children to support, frees up resources foreign vestment in economic development/family welfare

-Attracts large amounts of foreign investment, the nation becomes more important on the global stage.

-Increase in savings rate –working age is the prime period for saving, working population saving for old age

-For example, India has one of the youngest populations and this will increase economic growth due to an increase in the proportion of the independent population that provides a workforce.

Question 111

Causes of human trafficking

Answer 111

-Poverty: The effects of living in poverty can result in children or family members being sold in order for the rest of the family to be able to survive.

-Lack of education: This can be a barrier to employment and some may be lured into human trafficking in order to earn money.

-Natural disasters: After a natural disaster, people may become slaves in order to pay for their passage away from a location. The loss of family members or their homes may force them to turn to prostitution in order to survive.

Question 112

Impact of UK’s Modern Slavery Strategy and shortcomings

Answer 112

Impacts:
-Between 2016 and 2017, potential victim identification increased by 35%

Shortcomings:
-The prosecution rate is still very low, with only 4% of convictions resulting in legal action

Question 113

Example of a policy that promoted gender equality (Canada)

Answer 113

In 2015, the newly elected prime minister Justin Trudeau divided cabinet posts equally between men and women.

Question 114

How many days is the parental leave in Sweden?

Answer 114

480 days (for both parents)

Question 115

Example of a policy that promotes gender equality (Rwanda)

Answer 115

-An increase in skilled health providers during childbirth: Rwanda’s government specifically prioritized maternal and child health providers in the rebuilding, including doctors, nurses, and midwives, all at the community level.

-Family planning has empowered women to manage family size and take more charge of their reproductive lives: women can plan how many children they want to have and when they want to have them.

Question 116

How many births did China’s one-child policy prevent?

Answer 116

400 million (Chinese officials estimate)