Demography Flashcards
Demography
The study of populations and their characteristics
Birth rates
How many babies are born per 1000 of the population within a year
When did the birth rate start to decline
1900
Which factors determine the number of births per year
Proportion of women who are of childbearing age (15-44)
How fertile they are
What reasons are there for the lower total fertility rate
More Uk women remain childless
Postponing children until later in life
What reasons are there for the lower total fertility rate
More uk born women are remaining childless
Postponing children until later in life
What does it mean to be an economic liability
Children cost money
What changes in society mean children remain economically dependent on their parents for longer
Children no long work- stay at family home
School leaving age raised
Introduced compulsory school
Infant mortality rate
The number of infants who die before their first bday per 1000 babies born alive per year
How does a fall in IMR lead to a fall in BR
If infants survive parents have fewer children as they don’t need to replace them
Reasons for a fall in the UKs IMR
Improved sanitation and housing
Better nutrition
Improved services
what was the IMR in the Uk in 2012
4
Reasons why the change in the position of women has affected BRs
Women choose to remain childless or have them later in life so they can focus on their careers
Legal equality with men
What aspects of society have been affected by the changes in fertility
Family, dependency ratio, public services and policies
Why might childhood become a lonelier experience
Falling fertility rates mean fewer children which results in fewer siblings
What is the dependency ratio
The relationship between the size of the working part of the population and the size of the non working part of the population
What does burden of dependency mean
The earnings, savings and taxes of the working population must support the dependent population
Harper on changing position of women
The education of women is the most important reason for the fall in birth and fertility rates. It has led to a change in mindset among women resulting in fewer children.
Once a pattern of low fertility lasts for more than one generation, cultural norms about family size change
Brass and Kabir
The trend to smaller families began in urban areas but the IMR first began to fall in rural areas
Tranter
Over three quarters of the decline in death rate from 1850-1970 were due to a fall in the number of deaths from infectious diseases. Deaths from infectious diseases were commonest in the young
Mckeown
Improved nutrition accounted for up to half the reduction in the death rate
Better nutrition increased resistance to infection
Harper on smoking
The greatest fall in death rate in recent decades comes for a reduction in the people smoking
Obesity has replaced smoking as the new lifestyle epidemic
We may be moving to an ‘American’ health culture
Life expectancy
How long on average a person born in a given year is expected to live
As death rates have fallen life expectancy has increased
Ageing population
Fewer young people than elderly people in the population
Single person pensioner households
Number of pensioners living alone has increased (1 in 8 households)
Most of these are female because women generally live longer than men
This has been described as the feminisation of later life as there is an increase in feminine products
Changes in family structure
There is an increase in extended families due to increased life expectancy
With people living longer there are increases in multi-generational and bean pope families
Ageism
Negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people based on their age
Phillipson
The old are 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 often takes responsibility of their care
Immigration
1950s black immigrants from the Caribbean began to settle in the uk making it more ethically diverse
