Demography Flashcards
How has the CPOW an explanation for the decrease in the birth rate?
-Major changes in law in 20th century:
-Legal equality with men inc right to vote
-Inc educational opportunities
-More women in paid employment
-Easier access to divorce
-As a result: women see other possibilities in life apart from traditional expressive role
-Harper: education is the most significant role for the changes- gave new mindset, so more likely to use family planning
-Not all women have broken through the glass ceiling
-Rad Fems: women still oppressed and sexually regulated by men
How has the decline in the infant mortality rate an explanation for the decrease in the birth rate?
-Measures how many infants die before their first birthday per thousand
-IMR decreased birth rate as they aren’t replacing babies lost
-20th century IMR fell as:
-Improved sanitisation- clean water, flushing toilets
-Post natal care for mothers and children
-Some reject fall in birth rate- Brass and Kabir- smaller families began not in rural areas but in urban ones- where IMR remained high for longer
How are children becoming an economic liability an explanation for the decrease in the birth rate?
-Until 19th century children were economic assets- sent out to work from an early age to earn an income
-Late 19th- became economic liability- laws banning child labour, compulsory schooling, raising leaving age so children remain economically dependent on parents for longer
-Many EM groups still have above average children in a family- can’t generalise
How is child centredness an explanation for the decrease in the birth rate?
-Family and society as whole encouraged to value ‘quality’ over ‘quantity’
-Parents have fewer children and lavish more attention and resources on these few
-Child Liberationists/ conflict view say there’s a dark side of the family- dv stats indicate not all families are child centred
What is the dependency ratio?
Relationship between the size of the working part of the population and the size of the non-working or dependent of the population
How is improved nutrition an explanation for the decline in the death rate?
-Mckeown: improved nutrition accounted for half the reduction in DT and deaths from TB
-Better nutrition=inc resistance to infection and survival chances of those affected
-Doesn’t explain why females who receive a smaller share of the food supply live longer than males and why measles rose in times of improved nutrition
How are medical improvements an explanation for the decline in the death rate?
-After 1950s: improved medical knowledge, techniques and organisation helped reduce death rate
-Inc development in blood transfusions, antibiotics and NHS- 1948
-Recently: bypass surgery helps reduce deaths from heart disease by 1/3
-Medical advancements were minimal before 1950s so doesn’t explain falling deaths rate before then
How is smoking and diet an explanation for the decline in the death rate?
Harper: greatest fall in deaths is due to a reduction in people smoking
21st century: obesity replaced smoking as new lifestyle epidemic
2012- 1/4 of adults in the UK were obese
Deaths from obesity remain low due to meds, vaping- new epidemic
How are public health measures an explanation for the decline in the death rate?
20th: improvements in quality of life and publix health due to govs given power to pass and enforce laws
Inc improvements in housing, purer drinking water
Clean Air Acts- reduced air pollution such as smog- 4k deaths in 5 days in 1952
Still problems either areas of overcrowding- EMs, WC immigrants
What are other social changes that led to an explanation for the decline in the death rate?
-20th: decline in dangerous manual jobs life mining
-Smaller family sizes- less spread of disease
-Higher income- healthier lifestyle
-Improved sanitisation
What has the ageing population done to public services?
-Strain on the NHS
-Increased expenditure on old people so changes to housing, transport…
What has the ageing population done to one person households?
-Less housing for younger adults
-Pensioners living alone- 12.5% of all households
-Mainly women widows- ‘feminisation of later life’
What has the ageing population done to the dependancy ratio?
-Non-workers inc
-Pensions time bomb has a sudden spike as there’s more people claiming their pension
What is said about modern society and old age?- compare to postmodernism
-Old age is seen negatively due to structured dependency- elderly have to rely on younger gens as they’re excluded from paid work
-In modernity identity is pinned on paid work one economic productivity- so those not working are stigmatised
-Marxist: Phillipson- old people are nice use to capitalism as they’ve retired so state won’t adequately care for them- thus women especially are expected to step in
-In modernity- life is structured around fixed life stages
-Age=role allocation so old age=time of dependency and powerlessness
What is said about postmodern society and old age?- compared to modern society
-Fixed life stages in modernity have broken down
-Now blurred boundaries e.g children dressing in adukt clothing
-Gives ind more choice over their lifestyle no matter the age
-Consumption becomes more important than production in postmodern society
-Hunt: we can construct an identity by what we consume- age is irrelevant
-Old becomes a market for ‘rejuvenation’ goods and services- cosmetic surgery
-Encouraged by media through emphasis on surface features
-Reduces childcare costs
-The Grey Pound- by 2040 old people will have spent £50 billion
