demography Flashcards
trends on birth rate
three ‘baby booms’ in uk - two after the world wars and one in the 1960s
more women are remaining childless
average age for having children is 29.9, showing women postpone having a family - older women are less fertile = less babies
4 reasons for declining birth rate
changing positions of women
decline in imr
children becoming a economic liability
child centredness
decline in birth rate - changing positions of women
women have gained the same legal and social rights as men to work, vote, enter university, get a divorce, more autonomy over their bodies
this means women have more opportunities aside from having a family so postpone it - 1 in 5 women aged 45 was childless in 2006
decline in birth rate - ao3 for changing positions of women
radical feminists argue women are still sexually regulated by men e.g. male gaze, sexual double standards
decline in birth rate - decline in imr
previously infants would die before their first birthday often, meaning families would have more children to make up for the lost ones, but since less are dying families don’t need to replace them
improvements in housing, sanitation and regular checkups before and after childbirth for the baby and mother has reduced the imr
decline in birth rate - ao3 for decline in imr
no correlation between imr and birth rates - brass and kabir found smaller families began with urban families where the imr rate was higher for longer
decline in birth rate - children becoming a economic liability
previously children were used as an economic asset - sent to work at a early age to provide for the family
legal changes now ban child labour and impose compulsory schooling meaning children are economically dependent on their family for longer
decline in birth rate - ao3 for children becoming a economic liability
not generalisable - ethnic minority families are often larger
decline in birth rate - child centredness
children have become the focal point of the family and society, led to a shift from quantity to quality
this means parents will have fewer children to invest more financially and emotionally into the few children they have
decline in birth rate - ao3 for child centredness
child liberationists argue there is a dark side to the family - children are most likely to be abused due to age patriarchy
impacts of changes to fertility
families are smaller - women can go to work freely, creating a dual earner couple
the dependency ratio - in the short term the burden on the working part will be reduced, but in the future there will be a smaller working part recreating the burden
public services and policies - less children means there is less need for nurseries, schools so the government may invest money in adult health services and adult education
trends in death rate
death rate has decreased from 19 in 1900 to 10 in 2007
diseases of affluence (related to wealth) became more common than infectious diseases by the 1950s
4 reasons for decline in death rate
improved nutrition
medical improvements
smoking and diet
public health measures
decline in death rate - improved nutrition (McKeown)
we are more conscious of the food we eat, leading to healthier diets e.g. taking vitamin supplements, 5 a day, healthy ready meals that accounted for reducing half of death rates
better nutrition improved resistance to disease and survival chances
decline in death rate - ao3 for improved nutrition
doesn’t explain why women live longer than men despite getting the smaller share of the food or why death from infectious disease rose as nutrition improved
decline in death rate - medical improvements
improvements in medical procedures and knowledge has reduced death rates e.g. blood transfusions, antibiotics, MMR vaccinations and the NHS in 1948
recently, improvements to surgery e.g. bypass surgery, ice cap cancer treatments, pace makers reduce death rates from disease
decline in death rate - ao3 for medical improvements
medical improvements were minimal before 1950 - cannot explain why the death rate was falling before 1950
decline in death rate - smoking and diet
more awareness on dangers of smoking e.g. lung cancer, rotting teeth
more awareness on diet - consuming more fresh food, awareness of what we eat
decline in death rates - ao3 on smoking and diet
obesity has replaced smoking as the lifestyle epidemic - a quarter of uk adults were obese in 2012
vaping has replaced smoking
decline in death rates - public health measures
government has implemented more effective public health laws to improve the quality of the environment
improvements in housing e.g. less overcrowding, better ventilation, purer water and food
bans on smoking for anyone born after 2009 to eventually create a smoke free society, bans on indoor smoking reduced deaths from passive smoking
decline in death rates - ao3 public health measures
public health is still a issue - deprived areas still struggle with overcrowding
other changes impacting death rates
decline of dangerous manual jobs e.g. mining
greater public knowledge of disease
higher incomes to afford a healthier lifestyle
trends in life expectancy
men born in 1900 had a life expectancy of 50, in 2013 this increased to 90.3
women born in 1900 had a life expectancy of 57, in 2013 this increased in 94
more people are reaching their 100th birthday
class/gender/regional differences in life expectancy
wc men in dangerous jobs are 3x more likely to die before they are 65 than mc men in professional jobs
men die earlier than women, although the gap has narrowed
those in the north and scotland have a lower life expectancy than those in the south
overview on the ageing population
average age of the uk population is rising - in 1971 it was 34.1, increased in 40.3 in 2013
the number of 65 year old equalled with those under 15 in 2014
by 2041, there will be as many 78 year olds as 5 year olds
impacts of an aging population
public services - older people take up most of health and social services so funds are focused there, as well as on pensions, free bus passes, bedroom tax pushed on the elderly
one person households - pensioners account of 12.5% of households, mostly women as their husbands die earlier, creating the feminisation of later life
the dependency ratio - more retired people creates a burden on the working part, a solution would be to take more money off the working part
correlation between modern society and old age
old age is seen negatively due to structured dependency on the younger members of society
older people are stigmatised since they are not economically productive
Philipson - old people are no longer a use to capitalism and are inadequately cared for by the government so family members are expected to step in
correlation between postmodern society and old age
fixed stages of life have broken down e.g. children wear clothes associated with adults, people marry later and retire early giving individuals more choice over their life without the barrier of age
Hunt - we construct an identity based on what we consume, the old has become a market of rejuvenation goods e.g. cosmetic surgery, anti-ageing products to get them ‘spending the grey Pound’
inequality among the old based on class/gender
mc people have better pensions and savings, meaning they can have better leisure opportunities and retire whenever they want to
wc people suffer ill health more so may only have a small state pension
women have longer earnings and career breaks due to maternity leave so have lower pensions
problems of an aging population - policy implications (Hirsch)
the main problem is how to finance a longer period of old age, can be fixed by paying more taxes or work for longer
argues we should reverse the current trend of early retirement by redistribute education to old people to improve their skills and continue working
we also need a cultural change on how we view old age
PUSH factors for migration (why people want to leave their country of origin)
religious, racial or political persecution
conflict
poor living conditions
PULL factors for migration (why people want to move to that country)
better standards of living
better job opportunities
history of uk migration - pre WW2
mainly irish, eastern europeans and jews migrating to uk due to persecution, famine, lack of job opportunities
most migrants were white up to the 1950s, meaning immigration wasn’t visible until then
history of uk migration - 1946-1960
men from the west indies migrating to uk due to ties made during WW2
this marked the start of mass immigration, multiculturism and made immigration visible
history of uk migration - 1970s
south asians migrating to uk to resolve labour shortages, get better economic opportunities and escape civil war
the government made immigration for people of colour tougher
history of uk migration - 1980s
many migrated to the us, canada, australia, new zealand due to recession and to get better opportunities
riots in brixton were sparked by racial issues
the scarman report found racial discrimination was prevalent in british life - black men are more likely to be searched by police
history of uk migration - 1987 - 2002
asylum seekers migrated to uk to flee political persecution and seek a better life
there was a rise in racial tensions leading to riots, and the far right british national party won council seats
history of uk migration - since 2002
eastern europeans migrated to uk due to the expansion of the EU including more eastern european states
this has led to tensions over jobs, and some minority groups feel over policed and under protected
impacts of migration on uk population structure
the uk population has grown partly due to migration
in 2014, there were 583000 immigrants and 323000 emigrants
births to non-uk mothers are higher than uk mothers - this shows that migration has helped the uk population to not shrink
impact of migration on age structure
immigrants are generally younger, lowering the average age, and are also more fertile so have more children, also lowering the average age
the dependency ratio - most immigrants move into the working part which reduces the dependency ratio, and since immigrants are younger, it produces more workers which positively impacts the dependency ratio in the long term
definition of globalisation
the interconnectedness of the world
examples of globalisation in the modern world
24/7 news channel, businesses set up across the world, social media
trends in global migration - acceleration
international migration has increased by 33% between 2000 and 2013
trends in global migration - differentiation
many types of migrants - permanent and temporary settlers, refugees and students - have created a multicultural society due to being from a bigger range of countries
there are class differences between migrants (Cohen) - citizens have full rights to vote and claim benefits, denizens are privileged foreign nationals who are oligarchs welcomed by the state while helots are the most exploited group used for unskilled labour
trends in global migration - feminisation of migration
almost half of all migrants have been women, since domestic work have been done mostly by migrant women
there has been a global transfer in women’s emotional labour as migrant women leave their own children to take care of other children
migrant women also enter western countries as mail order brides and as illegally trafficked sex workers
migrant identity - overview
migrants may have a hybrid identity - made up of two cultures e.g. bangladeshi muslims have a hierarchal identity of first muslim, bengali then british
in a globalised economy migrants have more links to other migrants than their country of origin e.g. chinese migrants in rome who use mandarin more since their colleagues
uk government response to immigration - assimilation
first approach which encouraged migrants to adopt the language, values and custom of the host country
can be problematic as it encourages migrants to abandon their identity - ethnocentric
uk government response to immigration - multiculturalism
approach that is accepting of the diversity that comes with migration, allows them to keep their cultural identity
can be problematic as the host country pick and choose what aspects of the culture to accept e.g. curry is seen as a british dish but veiling of women is frowned upon
uk government response to immigration - a divided working class
politicans have moved to ideas of assimilation since 9/11
migrants blamed for social problems e.g. no jobs, terrorism, high crime rates which leads to racial scapegoating and a racially divided working class which prevents a uprising benefitting capitalism
