demography Flashcards
what is birth rate?
the number of live births per thousand of the population per year
what has happened to the birth rate?
there has been a long term decline
england and wales birth rate
1900 - 28.7
2014 - 12.2
2020 - 11.43
2021 - 11.377
2022 - 11.322
2023 - 11.267
how many live births were there in england and wales in 2021?
625,008
how many live births were there in england and wales in 2022?
605,479
what did ‘a centre for population change’ warn in march 2021?
birth rates were already tumbling to ‘historically low levels’ before the pandemic struck the previous year
reasons for the decline in birth rate?
20th century changes in women’s position - harper believes that education is the most important reason for the long term fall - resulted in a change in mindset
decline in the infant mortality rate (imr) - harper argues a fall in imr has led to a fall in birth rate because parents don’t need to replace the children they’ve lost
children are now an economic liability
child centredness
effects of changes:
future trends in birth rates
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
effects of changes:
fertility
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
what is death rate?
the number of deaths per thousand of the population per year
what has happened to the death rate?
there has been a long term decline
england and wales death rate
1900 - 19
2012 - 8.9
2017 - 9.2
2018 - 9.3
2019 - 9.1
2020 - 10.3
2021 - 9.1
death rate trends
began falling 1870, until 1930
rose slightly 1930s & 1940s - great depression, ww2
declined slightly since 1950
reasons for the decline in death rate?
fall in deaths from infectious diseases
- tranter - over 3/4 of the decline in death rate from 1850 to 1970 was due to a fall in the number of deaths from infectious diseases such as tuberculosis
- by 1950s, ‘diseases of affluence’ such as heart disease and cancer, replaced infectious diseases as main cause of death
improved nutrition
- mckeown - improved nutrition accounted for up to half the reduction in death rates. increased resistance to infection
smoking and diet
- harper - greatest fall in death rates has come from the reduction of smoking
medical improvements - nhs set up in 1948
public health measures - clean air acts reduced air pollution such as the smog which led to 4000 deaths in 5 days in 1952
reasons for the decline in death rate?
other social changes
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
what is life expectancy?
how long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live
life expectancy trends
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
class, gender and regional differences
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
what is happening to the average population age?
its rising
1971=34.1
2013=40.3
predicted 2037=42.8
why is the average population age rising?
increasing life expectancy
declining infant mortality
declining fertility
effects of an ageing population?
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
ageism, modernity and postmodernity
structured dependency as the cause of ageism
marxist perspective - phillipson argues old people are 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 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
inequality among the old
pilcher 1995 - inequalities remain important
class - middle class have better occupational pensions are higher savings. poorer old people have a shorter life expectancy and suffer for infirmity, kaing nit harder to maintain a youthful self identity
gender - women’s lower earnings and career breaks as carers means lower pensions. subject to ageist stereotyping
postmodernists understate importance of structural inequalities
policy implications
hirsch - need social policy changes to tackle problems of ageing population. the main problem will be how to finance a longer period of old age
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
