demography Flashcards
birth rate in 1900
28.7
birth rate in 2014
12.2
baby booms
After ww1
After ww2
1960s
Total fertility rate peak and all time low
Peak - 1964 2.95
All time low- 2001 1.63
reasons for decline in birth rate
- changes in womens positions
- decline in infant mortality rate
- children are now an economic liability
- child centredness
- changes in womens positions
reasons for decline in birth rate
- legal equality with men
- increased educational opportunities
- more women in paid employment, plus laws outlawing unequal pay and sex discrimination
- changes in attitudes to family life and womens role
- easier access to divorce
- acces to abortion and reliable contraception, giving women more control over their fertility
harper
the education of women is most important reason for long-term fall in birth and fertility rates. has led to a change in mindset among women, resulting in fewer children etc
- in 2012, 1/5 women aged 45 were childless, double the number 25 years ago
- decline in the infant mortality rate
reasons for decline in birth rate
- in 1900, the uk imr was 154. it began to fall due to improved housing, improved nutrition, better knowledge of hygeine, improved services for mothers and children
- by 1950s, imr was 30 and by 2012, it was 4
brass and kabir
argue the trend to smaller families began not in rural areas, where the imr first began to fall, but in urban areas, where the imr remained higher for longer
- children are now an economic liability
reasons for decline in birth rate
they used to be economic assests because they could be sent out to work from an early age
- since 19th century, children have gradually become an economic liability
– laws and changing norms
- child centredness
reasons for decline in birth rate
encouraged a shift from quantity to quality
future trends in birth rates
-Immigration into country is raising the fertility rate.
-By 2041 the birth rate is expected to be 800,000 births a year (constant)
on average mothers from outside the uk accounted for 25% of all births in UK in 2011
effects of changes in fertility
- the family
smaller families means that women are more likely to be free to go to work, thus creating dual earner couples (less oppression on women in the home)
effects of changes in fertility
the dependency ratio
reduces it but in the long term, it increases it as less children means less future workers
effects of changes in fertility
- children
less children means childhood may become a lonelier experience
more childless adults means less people speaking up on children’s interests
children could become more valued cause there are less of them
effects of changes in fertility
- public services and policies
fewer schools and maternity + child health services may be needed
- more old people relative to young people
declining death rate statistics
in 1900 it was 19
in 2012 it was 8.9
reasons for decline in death rate
- improved nutrition
- medical improvements
- smoking and diet
- public health measures
- other social changed
- improved nutrition
reasons for decline in death rate
mckeown; improved nutrition accounted for up to half the reduction in death rates and was particularly important in reducing numbers of death from TB- increased resistance to infection and increased survival chances of those who did become infected
– however, doesn’t explain why females who receive smaller share of family food supply lived longer than males. similarly, he fails to explain why deaths from other infectious diseases e.g measles rose
- medical improvements
reasons for decline in death rate
before 1950s, medical improvements played no part in the reduction of deaths from infectious disease
- after 1950s, improved medical knowledge, techniques and organisation did help to reduce death rates. e.g antibiotics, blood transfusions, improved maternity services, setting up of nhs in 1948
- smoking and diet
reasons for decline in death rate
harper; greatest fall in death rates have been from reduction in smoking.
- however, obesity has replaced smoking as the new lifestyle epidemic. 2012; 1/4 of all uk adults were obese
- public health measures
reasons for decline in death rate
more effective central and local govt with the necessary power to pass and enforce laws led to range of improvements
e.g producing drier, better ventilated, less overcrowded accom
purer drinking water
improved sewage water
- other social changes
reasons for decline in death rate
- decline of manual occupations such as mining
- smaller families reduced the rate of transmission of infection
- greater public knowledge of the causes of illness
- higher incomes, allowing for a healthier lifestyle
life expectancy
in 1900 - 50 for men, 57 for females
in 2013 - 90.7 for men, 94 for females
class differences in death rate
wc men in unksilled or routine jobs are nearly 3x more likely to die before 65, comapred to men in professional jobs
walker
those living in the poorest areas of england die on average 7 years earlier than those in richest areas, whilst the average different in disability- free life expectancy is 17 years
why is there an ageing population
increased life expectancy
declining death rate
declining TFR (fertility)
hirsh
traditional age ‘pyramid’ is disappearing and being replaced by more or less equal-sized ‘blocks’ representing the different age groups e.g by 2041, there will be as many 78 year olds as 5 year olds
effects of an ageing population
public services
-older people require more health services
-spend more health care funds
effects of an ageing population
one person pensioner households
one person pensioner households account for 1/8th of all households. most are female
effects of an ageing population
the dependency ratio
as number of retired people rise, this increases the dependency ratio and the burden on the working population
- in 2015, there were 3.2 people of working age for every one pensioner. ratio is predicted to fall to 2.8 to one by 2033
modern society and old age
many argue ageism is the result of ‘structured dependency’. old are largely excluded from paid work, leaving them economically dependent on their families or the state.
in modern society, our identity and status are largely determined by our role in production. those excluded from production by compulsory retirement have a dependent status and a stigmatised identity.
phillipson
the old are of no use to capitalism because they are no longer productive. as a result, the state is unwilling to support them adequately, and so the family (especially females) often have to take responsibility for their care
postmodern society and old age
postmodernists argue that the fixed stages of life from modernity no longer exist (e.g. children wearing adult clothes)
this allows old people to a greater choice of lifestyle regardless of age
due to this the old have become a market for rejuvination products through which they can create identities
two features of a postmodern society also undermine old age as a stigmatised life stage;
- centrality of media ; images now portray positive aspects of the lifestyle of the elderly
- emphasis on surface features ; body becomes a surface on which we can write identities. anti-ageing products enable the old to write different identities for themselves
inequality amongst the old, pilcher
Class/Gender could affect how the old live as the higher class/males have more savings/money compared to the poorer classes/women. This can affect life expectancy
postmodernist eval
they understate the inequalities between old people
policy implications, hirsch
a number of social policies will need to change to tackle the new problems posed by an ageing pop. main problem is how to finance a longer period of olderage.
- these policy changes also require a cultural change in our attitudes towards old age. his view illustrates the notion that old age is a construct.
townsend
reasons for negative attitudes towards old people is due to the negative attitudes towards the elderly in society is due to the socially constructed idea that the old age is a period of dependency
immigration patterns
from 1900 until WW2- Irish, followed by European Jews
during 1950s- black Caribbean
1960-70- South Asian
By 2011 ethnic minority groups accounted for 14% of the population
by 2011, ethnic minority groups accounted for
14% of the population. one result has been greater family diversity
emigration
push and pull factors
impact of migration on increase of population size
-Births to immigrant mothers account for 25% of all births
how migration lowers the average age
-immigrants are on average 10 years younger than UK passport holders
-immigrants have children (1/4 of them)
how immigration affects dependency ratio
-immigrants likely to be of working age, which decreases it
BUT they have many children which increases it but in the long term these children grow up and work which decreases it
acceleration
has been a speeding up rate of migration.
united nations (2013); between 2000 and 2013, international migration increased by 33%.
in 2013, 862k people either entered or left the uk
differentiation
many types of migrant; include permanent settlers, temporary workers, spouses, refugees and asylum seekers.
globalisation is increasing the diversity of types of migrants. e.g in 2014, there were more chinese-born (26%) than uk born (23%) postgrad students
super diversity - vertovec
migrants now come from a much wider range of countries. even within a single ethnic group, individuals differ in terms of their legal staus; e.g as citizens or spouses. a given ethnic group may also be divided by culture of religion and be widely dispersed throughout the uk
class differences across migrants - cohen
- citizens; with full citizenship rights. since 1970s, uk has made it harder to acquire these rights
- denizens are privileged foreign nationals welcomed by the state
- helots (slaves) most exploited group. states and employers regard them as ‘disposable units of labour power’
feminisation of migration
- Half of all migrants are now female compared to the past which has been called the globalisation of the gender division of labour where women are fitted into patriarchal stereotypes on women’s role.
- Also a global transfer of women’s emotional labour for example, migrant nannies. They may also enter western countries as mail order brides which reflects gendered and racialised stereotypes
ehrenreich and hoschchild
care work, domestic work and sex work in increasingly done by developing countries women and is a result of several trends:
○ Expansion of service occupations led to an increase demand of female labour.
○ Have joined the labour force and less willing/able to perform domestic labour.
○ Remain unwilling to perform domestic labour.
○ Failure of the state to provide adequate childcare.
shutes
40% of adult care nurses in the UK are migrants, most of these are female.
eade
example of hierarchical identity -Bangladeshi muslims in UK likely to see themselves as Muslim first, then Bengali, then Britis
eriksen
due to non settling back and forth migration, some migrants are likely to create hybrid identities instead of belonging to a single culture
immigration policies
assimilation- encourages immigrants to adapt to the host culture
multiculturalism- accepts cultural differences
castles
Assimilation is counter productive because it maks migrants as ‘the other’
divided wc - castles and kosack
assimilationist ideas may also encourage workers to blame migrants for social problems, such as unemployment
— this benefits capitalism by creating a racially divided wc and preventing united action in defence of their interests
griffiths report
on the care of the elderly and saw society as facing the problem of meeting the escalating costs of heath and social care
