demography Flashcards
births - reasons for trends - changes in position of women
increased equality with men, employment opportunities, changes in social attitudes, divorce, abortion and contraception give women opportunity to choose if and when to have children
harper - edu is main factor - educated women prioritise careers, more likely to use contraception and choose childlessness - changes social attitudes as smaller families become the norm
birth - reasons for trends - child centredness
family and society have become child centred - ‘quality not quantity’ is more important so families have fewer children, but give them more attention and resources
births - effects of trends - smaller families
as fewer babies are born, some argue this causes more isolated and lonely children as many now grow up without siblings and neighbourhoods with no other children to play with.
HOWEVER, this can lead to children being more valued and families more child centred
births - effects of trends - improves dependency ratio
fall in birth rate reduces dependent population as there are fewer under 18s who need to be supported by the working population
deaths - reasons for trends - smoking and diet
harper - there’s now a greater awareness of dangers of smoking and unhealthy diet - result of gov campaigns and new laws which help people quit smoking and encourage them to eat healthily and exercise more - makes people healthier and living longer
HOWEVER, harper - are still eating unhealthily but stay alive as result of expensive medical care
deaths - reasons for trends - improved nutrition
mckeowan - improvements in nutrition halve death rates, particularly from TB as it increases resistance to infection and survival rates.
HOWEVER, women receive less nutrition as they often get smaller share of family’s food supply, yet live longer
deaths - effects of trends - increased dependency ratio
non working elderly are burden on working population as they require pensions, free transport, social and health care
HOWEVER, when they were younger they worked so made a contribution to society and took care of dependant population so now its our turn to take care of them.
hirschi - argues there’s a need for change in policy - gov needs to decide if people will have to start paying more in taxes or work longer
deaths - effects of trends - increased burden on public services
more hospitals, care homes and carers needed to support elderly population
HOWEVER, we are not just living longer, we are also healthier in old age so many elderly people are independent and don’t need health or social care provision
