Ageing Population Flashcards
What is Life Expectancy and how does it link to the Ageing Population?
Life Expectancy: how long on average a person born in a certain year is expected to live
•There are class, gender, and regional differences in life expectancy
This links to ageing population because an increased life expectancy has lead to an ageing population
Movement of the Ageing Population
Currently, the ageing population is increasing
•In the UK, there are fewer younger people than older people in the population
Age Pyramids: Hirsch (2005)
Hirsch (2005): the traditional age pyramid is disappearing and is being replaced by equal blocks
•Recently, the distribution has started to become top-heavy
•Age pyramids are visual comparisons between the amount of people of an age
Why we have an Ageing Population: Increase in Life Expectancy
Due to increase in services and improvement in quality of life, people are now living longer but having less children
Why we have an Ageing Population: Declining Infant Mortality
Since less babies are dying early, families do not need to have more children to replace them
Why we have an Ageing Population: Declining Birth Rate
There is a lower amount of younger people in the generation compared to older people
Effects of an Ageing Population: One Person Pensioner Households
•Number of pensioners living alone has increased
•One person pensioner households account for 1/8 of households
•Among the over-75s there are twice as many women as men, typically because women live longer than men
Why we have an Ageing Population: The Dependency Ratio
•The non-working old are an economically dependent group
•This increases the burden on the working population
:( The age at which old people can draw their their pension is rising -> 66 (2020) to 67 (2026)
Why we have an Ageing Population: Public services
•People now consume a greater proportion of health and social services than any other age group
•Money has to be spent in these sectors to care for the elderly
•Hirsch (2005): main problem will be how to finance a longer period of old age
-continuing to work for longer
-reverse the current trend towards early retirement
-older people “trade down” into smaller accommodation
Ageism: stereotypes of the elderly
•less intelligent, incapable, dependent
•In other cultures, the elderly are well respected and are considered wiser
Modern Society and Old Age
•Those that do not work have a stigmatised identity
•Ageism is the result of structured dependency- since they are excluded from work from the government, they are forced to be economically dependent on the state
•Phillipson: the old are no use to capitalism as they are no longer productive
Post-modernists: Hunt (2005)
We not define life and our identity by what we consume, we choose our lifestyle
•The old become a market for a vast range of “body maintenance” where services are offered to “sell” them a younger identity
Is this true for everyone classed as elderly?
:( Pilcher (1995): postmodernists underestimate the importance and impact of social class and gender on old age experiences
:( Concern (2004): more people reported suffering age discrimination then other forms of discrimination (29%)
