demography

Question 1

what is birth rate?

Answer 1

the number of live births per thousand of the population per year

Question 2

what has happened to the birth rate?

Answer 2

there has been a long term decline

Question 3

england and wales birth rate

Answer 3

1900 - 28.7

2014 - 12.2

2020 - 11.43

2021 - 11.377

2022 - 11.322

2023 - 11.267

Question 4

how many live births were there in england and wales in 2021?

Answer 4

625,008

Question 5

how many live births were there in england and wales in 2022?

Answer 5

605,479

Question 6

what did ‘a centre for population change’ warn in march 2021?

Answer 6

birth rates were already tumbling to ‘historically low levels’ before the pandemic struck the previous year

Question 7

reasons for the decline in birth rate?

Answer 7

20th century changes in women’s position

decline in the infant mortality rate (imr)

children are now an economic liability

child centredness

Question 8

effects of changes:

future trends in birth rates

Answer 8

slight increase in births since 2001

one reason = immigration; mothers born outside uk on average have
higher fertility rate

2011 - 25% of all births were babies born to mothers born outside the uk

Question 9

effects of changes:

fertility

Answer 9

smaller families - dual couples more likely

consequences for public services, - fewer schools needed

nb political decisions - instead of reducing schools, government could choose to have smaller class sizes

ageing population - women having fewer babies means more old people relative to young people

the dependency ratio - relationship between the size of the working or productive part of the population and the size of the dependent or non- working part of the population

Question 10

what is death rate?

Answer 10

the number of deaths per thousand of the population per year

Question 11

what has happened to the death rate?

Answer 11

there has been a long term decline

Question 12

england and wales death rate

Answer 12

1900 - 19

2012 - 8.9

2017 - 9.2

2018 - 9.3

2019 - 9.1

2020 - 10.3

2021 - 9.1

Question 13

death rate trends

Answer 13

began falling 1870, until 1930

rose slightly 1930s & 1940s - great depression, ww2

declined slightly since 1950

Question 14

reasons for the decline in death rate?

Answer 14

fall in deaths from infectious diseases

by 1950s, ‘diseases of affluence’ replaced infectious diseases as main cause of death

improved nutrition

smoking and diet

medical improvements

public health measures

Question 15

reasons for the decline in death rate?

other social changes

Answer 15

decline in dangerous manual occupations (mining)

smaller families - lower infection transmission rate

greater public knowledge of illness causes

lifestyle changes - fewer men smoking

higher incomes - healthier lifestyles

Question 16

what is life expectancy?

Answer 16

how long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live

Question 17

life expectancy trends

Answer 17

1900 m =50yrs f = 57yrs
2013 m = 79.4yrs f = 83yrs
2020 m = 79.04 yrs f = 82.86yrs

during last 2 centuries, increased about 2 years per decade

harper predicts ‘radical longevity’: 2015 = 10,000
centenarians ; 2100 = 1 million

Question 18

class, gender and regional differences

Answer 18

women live longer than men - (gap has narrowed -employment & lifestyle changes such as female smokers)

north & scotland lower life expectancy than the south

working class men in unskilled or routine jobs 3x as likely to die before 65 compared with men in managerial or professional jobs

walker (2011) poorest areas of england die 7 years earlier

average difference in disability-free life expectancy is 17 years

Question 19

what is happening to the average population age?

Answer 19

its rising

1971=34.1

2013=40.3

predicted 2037=42.8

Question 20

why is the average population age rising?

Answer 20

increasing life expectancy

declining infant mortality

declining fertility

Question 21

effects of an ageing population?

Answer 21

public services - older people consume more of some services such as health, social care - ageing population may mean changes to policies and provision of housing, transport

one person pensioner households now 12.5%, or 1 in 8 of households - there are twice as many women of 75+ than men - the ‘feminisation of later life’

ageism in modern society, such as discrimination and discourses constructing old age and ageing as a ‘problem’- costs of pensions, healthcare for the old

Question 22

ageism, modernity and postmodernity

Answer 22

structured dependency as the cause of ageism

marxist perspective - phillipson (1982) argues old no use to capitalism

modern society - life structured into stages; worker, pensioner; old excluded from labour force

postmodernists argue orderly stages of life course have broken down; consumption defines our identities; hunt (2005) we can choose an identity & lifestyle regardless of age

the old become a marketplace - anti- ageing products. these trends break down ageist stereotypes.

centrality of the media - portrays positive aspects of elderly lifestyles

emphasis on the surface features - anti-ageing products mean the old write different identities for themselves

Question 23

inequality among the old

Answer 23

pilcher 1995 - inequalities remain important

class

gender

postmodernists understate importance of structural inequalities

Question 24

policy implications

Answer 24

hirsch (2005) - need social policy changes to tackle problems of ageing population

paying more from savings or taxes whilst working, or working for longer, or both

housing policy to encourage older people to downsize

hirsch- policy changes need cultural change in attitudes towards old age; old age is a social construct