Demography Flashcards
Define birth rate
Number of live births per thousand of the population per year
What are 2 reasons for the changes in fertility and birth rates?
- More women are remaining childless
- Women are postponing having children
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What are the 4 reasons for the decline in birth rate?
- Changes in women’s position
- Decline in the infant mortality rate
- Children are now an economic liability
- Child centredness
What were some major changes for women during the 20th century?
- Legal equality (right to vote)
- Increased educational opportunities
- More women in paid employment
- Changes in attitudes to family life and women’s role
- Easier access to divorce
- Access to abortion
What did Harper say was the most important reason for the fall in birth and fertility rates?
Education
Define infant mortality rate
The number of infants that die before their first birthday, per thousand babies born alive, per year
What was the main reason for the decline in IMR?
Fall in birth rate, once a pattern of low fertility lasts for more than one generation cultural norms on the family changes
What were some reasons for the fall in IMR?
- Improved housing and sanitation
- Better nutrition
- Better knowledge of hygiene
- Better services for mothers and children
How did children transition from being an economic asset to an economic liability?
- Laws banning child labour and introducing compulsory schooling
- Changing norms
How is child centredness decreasing birth rate?
- Childhood is socially constructed and it has encouraged a shift from ‘quantity’ to ‘quality’
How has the changes in fertility affected the family?
- Smaller families may mean women are more likely to be free to go out to work
What is the dependency ratio?
- The relationship between the size of the working population and the size of the non-working part of the population
- The earnings, savings and taxes of the working population must support the dependent population
What is the ‘vanishing children’?
- Falling fertility rates mean fewer children, childhood becomes a lonelier experience
- Conversely, fewer children could mean they will come to be valued more
How does a lower birth affect the public services?
- Fewer schools and maternity and child health services may be needed
- Affects the costs of maternity and paternity leave and the types of housing however these are political decisions
Define death rate
Number of deaths per thousand, per year