demography Flashcards
Effects of changes in fertility - The family
> Smaller families mean women are more likely to go out to work - dual earner couples
Effects of changes in fertility - Dependency ratio
> Less children reduces the burden of dependency
However, this means fewer young adults in future so burden may increase again
Effects of changes in fertility - Services and policies
> Less children means less schools and child health services
However, the government could decide on smaller class sizes instead of less schools
Effects of changes in fertility - Ageing population
> Less children means the average age of the population is rising - more old people compared to young people
Reasons for decline in birth rate - Women’s position
> HARPER - education led to a change in mindset - less children
Use family planning and see other possibilities in life
Reasons for decline in birth rate - Decline in infant mortality rate
> Infants surviving means parents will have less children
IMR 1900 - 154
IMR UK 1950 - 30 - mass immunisation against childhood diseases, antibiotics to fight infection, and improved midwifery techniques
IMR UK 2019 - 4.6
However, BRASS and KABIR - smaller families began in urban areas, where IMR was higher for longer
Reasons for decline in birth rate - Children as an economic liability
> Economically dependent on parents for longer - laws banning child labour, compulsory schooling, and raising school leaving age
Changing norms on what children expect from their parents in material terms
Reasons for decline in birth rate - Child centredness
> ‘Quality over quantity’ - more attention and resources on less children
Reasons for decline in birth rate - Future trends
> Slight increase during first decade of 21st century
Immigration - mothers outside of UK have a higher fertility rate - 28% of births in 2018 were to mothers from outside of UK
Reasons for decline in death rate - Improved nutrition
> MCKEOWN - better nutrition increase resistance to infection and increased survival chances if infected
However, he doesn’t explain why females lived longer than men, but they receive a smaller share of family food
Reasons for decline in death rate - Medical improvements
> National health service in 1948
After 1950s, advantages included antibiotics, immunisation and improved maternity services
Recently, medication and by-pass surgery have reduced heart disease deaths by 1/3
Reasons for decline in death rate - Smoking and diet
> HARPER - greatest fall was from less people smoking
Obesity has become the new smoking epidemic - 2012, 1/4 of all UK adults were obese - deaths kept low because of drug therapies
‘American’ health culture - lifestyles are unhealthy but a long lifespan achieved by medication
Reasons for decline in death rate - Public health measures
> Improvements in housing
Purer drinking water
Improved sewage disposal methods
Clear air acts reduced air pollution
Reasons for decline in death rate - Life expectancy
> Over the past two centuries, increased by about 2 years per decade
HARPER - soon achieve ‘radical longevity’
Reasons for decline in death rate - Class, gender and regional differences
> Women generally live longer than men
Working class men in unskilled jobs are more likely to die before 65
WALKER - poorest areas die on average seven years earlier
Causes of an ageing population - HIRSCH
> Increasing life expectancy
Declining infant mortality
Declining fertility
Effects of an ageing population - Public services
> Older people consume a larger proportion of services
We should be aware of over-generalising
Effects of an ageing population - One person pensioner households
> About one in seven of all households
Effects of an ageing population - The dependency ratio
> 2022 - 3.5 people of working age for every pensioner
2041 prediction - 2.7
Wrong to assume that ‘old’ equals ‘economically dependent’ - age that people can draw their state pension is rising
Ageism
> The negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people based on their age
Modern society and old age
> PHILLIPSON - no use to capitalism because they are no longer productive - state is unwilling to support them and so the family often have to take responsibility
Age is important in role allocation - fixed life stages
Postmodern society and old age
> Life stages have broken down - greater choice of lifestyle no matter what age
Market for a range of ‘body maintenance’ or ‘rejuvenation’ goods and services
Media now portray positive aspects of the lifestyle of the elderly
Inequality among the old
> PILCHER - inequalities in class and gender are important
Middle class have better occupational pensions and more savings from higher salaries
Women’s lower earnings and career breaks mean lower pensions
Policy implications of an ageing population - HIRSCH
> Financing a longer period of old age - paying more taxes when we are working, or by working for longer
Housing policy - encourage ‘trade down’ into smaller accommodation
Types of migration
> Immigration - movement into a society
Emigration - movement out of a society
Net migration - difference between the numbers of immigrants and the numbers of emigrants
Immigration
> 2021, minority ethnic groups accounted for 14.4% of population
Diverse family patterns
Emigration
> ‘Push factors’ - economic recession and unemployment at home
‘Pull factors’ - higher wages or better opportunities
Impact of migration
> Immigrants more likely to be of working age - lower dependency ratio
However, they have more children so increase the dependency ratio - children will join labour force and lower the ratio again
Feminisation of migration
> Almost 1/2 of global migrants are female
EHRENREICH and HOCHSCHILD - care work, domestic work and sex work in western countries are done by women from poor countries - SHUTES reports 40% of adult care nurses in the UK are migrants, mostly female
Global transfer of women’s emotional labour - migrant nannies provide care and affection for employers children whilst leaving their own children behind
Politicisation of migration
> Assimilationism - Encourage immigrants to adopt the language, values and customs to make them ‘like us’
