demography Flashcards
what four factors affect the size of a country’s population
- births: how many babies are born
- deaths: how many people die
- immigration: how many people enter the country from else where
- emigration: how many people leave the country to live else where
what is natural change
the result of there being more births than deaths
what is net migration
more immigration than emigration
what is the birth rate
the number of live births per thousands of the population per year
what does total fertility rate mean
is the average number of children women will have during their fertility years
two reasons for changes in the fertility and birth rates.
- more women are remaining childless then in the past
- women are postponing having children: the average for giving birth now is 30 and fertility rates for women in their 30’s and 40’s are on the increase
changes in the position of women
major changes in the position of women:
- legal equality with men(right to vote)
- increased educational opportunities
- more women in paid employment
decline in the infant mortality rate
IMFR measures the number of infants who die before their first birthday, per thousand babies born alive per year. Harper argues that a fall in the IMR leads to a fall in the birth rate. if many infants die parents have more children to replace those they have loss.
children are now an economic liability
children are gradually becoming an economic liability.
laws- banning child labour, introducing compulsory schooling and raising the school leaving age
changing norms- the costs for bringing up children have risen
child centeredness
there has been a shift from quantity to quality- parents now have fewer children and lavish more attention and resources on these few
. What is the reason for the slight increase in births since 2001?
increase in immigration because, on average, mothers from outside the UK have higher fertility rate than those born in the Uk
What does the overall projection show about the number of births up to 2041?
expects the annual number of births to be fairly constant, at around 800,000 per year
What is the effect of fewer babies being born on:
The family?
smaller families mean that women are more likely to be free to go out to work, thus creating the dual earner couple
What is the effect of fewer babies being born on: dependency ratio
dependency ratio is the relationship between the size of the working or productive part of the population and the size of the non working or dependent part of the population.
Children make up a large part of the dependent population, so a fall in the number of children reduces the “burden of dependency” on the working population
What is the effect of fewer babies being born on: public services and policies
lower birth rate has consequences for public services- fewer schools, maternity and child health services may be needed.
define death rate
is the number of deaths per thousand of the population per year.
According to Tranter, what was the main reason for the decline in the death rate from 1850 to
1970.
due to the fall in the number of deaths from infectious diseases such as measles and small pox.
By the 1950s, what kinds of diseases had become the main cause of death?
“diseases of affluence”-wealth such as heart disease and cancers had replaced infectious diseases as the main cause of death. affected middle age and old
social factors that had an impact on death rates: Improved nutrition
McKeown argued that improved nutrition accounted for up to half the reduction in death rates and was particularly important in reducing the number of deaths and increased survival chances of those who did become infected
social factors that had an impact on death rates: medical improvements
improved medical knowledge techniques and organisation did help to reduce death rates. introduction of antibiotics .
social factors that had an impact on death rates: smoking and diet
reduction in the number of people smoking lead to a fall in death rates. obesity has increased dramatically, deaths from obesity have been kept on the low as a result of drug therapies
social factors that had an impact on death rates: public heath measures
power to pass and enforce laws led to a range of improvements in public health and the quality of the environment. these included improvements in housing and purer drinking water
social factors that have had an impact on death rates: other social changes
- the decline in dangerous manual occupations such as mining
- smaller families reduces the rate of transmission of infection
define life expectancy
refers to how long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live
What is the difference in life expectancy for a baby boy born in 1900 as compared with a baby boy born in 2013?
man born in England in 1900 could expect on average to live until 50 (57 females) males born in England 2013 can expect to live for 90.7 years (94 females)
Give one reason why average life expectancy was low in 1900.
the fact that so many infants and children didn’t survive beyond the early years of life
What is the projected number of centenarians in 2100?
one million
Identify three factors that have caused the ageing of the population
- increasing life expectancy: people are living longer into old age
- declining infant mortality- hardly anyone dies nowadays
- declining fertility-fewer young people are being born in relation to the number of older people in the population
effects of an ageing population on: Public services
older people consume a larger proportion of services such as health and social care than other age groups.
effects of an ageing population on: one-person pensioner household
the number of pensioners living alone has increased and one person pensioner households now account for about 12.5% or eight of all households. most are females
effects of an ageing population on: the dependency ratio
as the number of retired people rises, this increases the dependency ratio and the burden of the working population
what is ageism?
the negative stereotypes and unequal treatment of people on the basis of their age
in what ways may ageism be seen
ageism towards older people shows itself in many ways such a discrimination in employment and unequal treatment in health care.
what is structured dependency
the old are largely excluded from paid work, leaving them economically dependent on their families or the state
how do Marxist view old age in a capitalist society
Phillipson- the old are no use for capitalism because they are no longer productive. the state is unwilling to support them properly so female relatives take responsibility for their care.
how does age determine people role’s in society
age is important in role allocation, creating fixed life stages and age-related identities, such as worker or pensioner. old excluded from the role of the labour force= dependent and powerless
how does the life course in postmodern society differ from that in modern society
in today postmodern society, the fixed, orderly stages of the life course have broken down. for example, children dressing in adult styles
how do people use consumption to create their identities in postmodern society.
consumption becomes the key to our identities. we can now define ourselves by what we consume. Hunt- this may mean we can choose a lifestyle and identity regardless of age, age no longer determines who we are