Demography and Globalisation (4)

Question 1

What is meant by demography?

Answer 1

The study of population. This includes looking at changes to birth rates, death rates, life expectancy, etc…

Question 2

What is meant by birth rate?

Answer 2

The number of live births per 1000 of the population per year.

Question 3

What is meant by total fertility rate?

Answer 3

The average number of children one women will have between the ages of 15-44.

Question 4

What is meant by death rate?

Answer 4

The number of deaths per 1000 of the population per year.

Question 5

What is meant by infant mortality rate (IMR)?

Answer 5

The number of children dying before their first birthday per 1000 live births per year.

Question 6

What is meant by dependency ratio?

Answer 6

The % of dependent people (not of working age) divided by the number of people of working age (economically active). (The proportion of dependents per 100 working-age population).

Question 7

What is meant by life expectancy?

Answer 7

The average number of years that a person can expect to live.

Question 8

What is meant by migration?

Answer 8

Moving to another country for a period of at least a year. (Internal migration: moving within your country of residence e.g. for London to Devon).

Question 9

What is meant by immigration?

Answer 9

Entering another country for a period of at least a year, so that is becomes your usual place of residence.

Question 10

What is meant by emigration?

Answer 10

Leaving your usual country of residence for at least a year, to live in another country.

Question 11

What is meant by net migration?

Answer 11

The difference between the number of immigrants coming in to a country and the number of emigrants leaving a country in a year.

Question 12

What is meant by natural change?

Answer 12

Changes in the size of the population due to changes in the number of births and deaths, excluding migration.

Question 13

What is meant by globalisation?

Answer 13

The way in which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected, causing time and space to seam compressed.

Question 14

What are the nature of the trends of birth rates and fertility rates?

Answer 14

The birth rate has decreased overall since 1900: from 29 live births per 1000 of the population in 1901, to 12.2 in 2012.
The total fertility rate has decreased: women are having fewer children (on average 1.9).
The age at which women are having children (childbearing) has increased.
More women are remaining childless.

Question 15

What are the causes of the decreasing birth and fertility rates since 1900?

Answer 15

1. Change in gender roles, particularly women’s position in society.
2. Falling infant mortality.
3. Increased cost of child-rearing.
4. Changing attitudes.

Question 16

How is change in gender roles, particularly women’s position in society a cause of the decreasing birth and fertility rates since 1900?

Answer 16

It is now more common for women are to delay having children, limit the amount they have or indeed choose to be childless.
Factors include:
Increasing effective contraception widely available plus access to abortion.
Women less likely to get married.
Women working in paid employment means that it is hard to combine a large number of children with working.
Greater legal equality and rights for women, e.g. Equal Pay Act, 1970.
Increased educational performance for women.

Question 17

How is falling infant mortality a cause of the decreasing birth and fertility rates since 1900?

Answer 17

The IMR has fallen dramatically due to rising living standards, improved hygiene and sanitation, improvements in healthcare, increased monitoring of child welfare and the developing role of the welfare state.

Question 18

How is increased cost of child-rearing a cause of the decreasing birth and fertility rates since 1900?

Answer 18

The length of schooling has been extended meaning that children are dependent on their parents for longer. Furthermore, views on parenting and childhood have changed: we are now more materialistic and child-centred. People also want higher living standards and so having less children means that this is possible.

Question 19

How is changing attitudes a cause of the decreasing birth and fertility rates since 1900?

Answer 19

People have become concerned with their own needs - Beck and Gernsheim (1995) call this process individualisation. People no longer have to follow traditional norms and values and instead make their own decisions, for example about marriage and having children. Alternative to nuclear families are more socially acceptable so people may feel less social pressure to have a child/children. Furthermore, as society has become more child-centred, some couples choose to have just one or two children so they don’t have to split their time and money as many ways.

Question 20

What are the consequences of the decreasing birth and felicity rates since 1900?

Answer 20

Increased dependency ratio
Strain on pupil services
Further changes in gender roles

Question 21

How is increased dependency ratio a consequence of the decreasing birth and fertility rates since 1900?

Answer 21

Falling numbers of children mean there will be less people of a working age in the next generation, which leads to greater numbers of dependent people.

Question 22

How is strain on public services a consequence of the decreasing birth and fertility rates since 1900?

Answer 22

Such as hospitals and schools e.g. redundancies could be made as fewer children means less demand for midwives, primary school teachers, etc…
However, don’t forget the birth rate is now increasing again due to immigration.

Question 23

How is further changes in gender roles a consequence of the decreasing birth and fertility rates since 190?

Answer 23

Falling fertility rates give women more time for their careers and perhaps leading to relationships between men and women becoming more equal?

Question 24

What are the nature of the trends of death rates and infant mortality rate, life expectancy and the ageing population?

Answer 24

Death rate is declining.
Infant mortality rate is in decline.
Life expectancy is increasing.
Ageing population.

Question 25

What are the causes of the decreasing death rate and increasing life expectancy since 1900?

Answer 25

1. The Beveridge report.
2. Medical advances.
3. Improved hygiene and nutrition.
4. Improved maternity care.

Question 26

How is the Beveridge report a cause of the decreasing death rate and increasing life expectancy since 1900?

Answer 26

This leads to greater government help for the elderly, sick and the young e.g. the NHS, welfare benefits such as sickness benefit, pensions, care homes, etc…

Question 27

How is medical advances a cause of the decreasing death rate and increasing life expectancy since 1900?

Answer 27

Antibiotics lead to a decrease in preventable deaths.
Vaccination programmes lead to a decrease in the infections disease such as TB, measles, whooping cough etc.
More recent illnesses such as diseases of affluence such as heart attack and obesity are being more effective treated due to drugs and technologically-advanced operations such as heart bypass operations.

Question 28

How is improved hygiene and nutrition a cause of the decreasing death rate and increasing life expectancy since 1900?

Answer 28

There was a rapid decline in absolute poverty (a lack of the basic necessities in life such as food and shelter) in the 20th century. McKeown argues that improved nutrition and living standards are the main causes of the decrease in death rates, partly because better nutrition helps increase resistance to infectious diseases.
However, McKeown fails to explain why women has a longer life expectancy than men, even though they received a smaller share of food.

Question 29

How is improved maternity care a cause of the decreasing death rate and increasing life expectancy since 1900?

Answer 29

Since the NHS was introduced maternity care has developed, and this has led to a decline in infant mortality rates, which has helped lower the overall death rate.

Question 30

What are the consequences of the decreasing death rate and increasing life expectancy since 1900?

Answer 30

1. Increased dependency ratio.
2. Changes to families and households: more family diversity.
3. Increased strain on families/communities to care for the elderly.
4. Increased role of grandparents.
5. Increased opportunities for older people.

Question 31

How is increased dependency ratio a consequence of the decreasing death rate and increasing life expectancy since 1900 and what are the policy implications for this?

Answer 31

Explanation:
Greater life expectancy means that we have a higher proportion of elderly people in our society: an ageing population. Therefore there are more pensioners reliant on the decreasing working population. Some sociologists are concerned about the ‘pension timebomb’ as around half of the welfare budget is spent on pensions already. The elderly also use the NHS more regularly than other age groups: accounting for 50% of the people in hospital, and 60% of all drugs prescribed in 2013 (even though the over 65s only make up around 20% of the population).
Policy Implications:
Government has increased the pension age to 68 years by 2018.
NHS trust have the power to chose which drugs/services to offer, so may need to withdraw some.

Question 32

How is changes to families and households: more family diversity a consequence of the decreasing death rate and increasing life expectancy since 1900 and what are the policy implications for this?

Answer 32

Explanation:
Increasing numbers of widowed people leads to more lone person households, and as some elderly people move in with their children and their family, resulting in more expended families. Furthermore, the increased life expectancy combined with the low birth rate has created more beanpole families.
Policy Implications:
More, smaller houses need to be built.
Government may need to introduce the elderly to ‘trade down’ to smaller houses.

Question 33

How is increased strain on families/communities to care for the elderly a consequence of the decreasing death rate and increasing life expectancy since 1900 and what are the policy implications for this?

Answer 33

Explanation:
Due to growing numbers of elderly people, the government can no longer afford to provide care homes for them. The Griffiths Report (1983) concluded that the government should increase the efficiency and amount of care in the community. This has contributed to families being responsible for the care of elderly relatives, either by funding the care or by taking care of them. Thus burden falls to women more than men much of the time.
Policy Implications:
Policy was changed to transfer responsibility for care homes from government to communities/families e.g. via privatisation.

Question 34

How is increasing role of grandparents a consequence of the decreasing death rate and increasing life expectancy since 1900?

Answer 34

Blaikie (1999) concludes that grandparents are increasingly involved with caring for their grandchildren as well; playing a more significant role in their lives as often both parents now work. Charles (2008) agrees, adding that this frees up mothers to return to work after maternity leave and creates dual-earning ‘neo-coventional’ families.

Question 35

How is increased opportunity for older people a consequence of the decreasing death rate and increasing life expectancy since 1900?

Answer 35

Blaikie (1999) argues that an ageing population results in a longer, more fulfilling retirement period leading to ‘positive ageing’ e.g. increasing opportunities for older people with more work-free years to travel, have hobbies, spend time with grandchildren
, etc… Media and leisure facilities have also adapted to include ‘grey’ consumerism and cultural e.g. ‘Silver Cinema’ at Odeon cinemas! This can boost the economy and is known as the ‘grey pound’. However, a longer period of life also means greater chance of divorce and remarriage.

Question 36

What are pull and push factors and what are some examples?

Answer 36

Pull factors - factors which attract (‘pull’) people to the destination country e.g. Britain having a respected education system or Spain having a pleasant climate.
Push factors - factors which cause people to want to leave their country of origin e.g. war in Syria, religious persecution in Iraq, natural disasters in Nepal.

Question 37

What are the causes of the increased migration?

Answer 37

1. Increased international trade.
2. New technologies and the increased in global media.
3. Increased transport links.
4. Political changes.

Question 38

How is increased international trade a cause of the increased migration?

Answer 38

Increasing migration is a key feature of globalisation. Given that many companies are now transnational and often span continents, this provides greater opportunities for people to move.

Question 39

How is new technologies and the increase in global media a cause of the increased migration?

Answer 39

We are much more knowledgeable about other parts of the world than past generations due to the internet and growth of global media. This increased knowledge leads to more people aspiring to move to a better part of the world, so increased migration. Technology also impacts families as it may mean some members move vast distances (e.g. a rise of LAT couples), although technologies like text messaging, email and Skype mean distant family members can communicate more regularly (Litwak - the ‘modified extended family’).

Question 40

How is increased transport links a cause of the increased migration?

Answer 40

The growth of transport links has been partly due to the invention of air travel, and in recent decades, the advent of low-cost airlines such as EasyJet. This means that more countries and regions are linked to each other than ever before, and as a result, it is cheaper and easier for people to migrate to other parts of the world.

Question 41

How is political changes a cause of the increased migration?

Answer 41

The creation of international bodies (such as the European Union) has meant there are fewer visa restrictions, making it cheaper and easier for people to travel or even permanently move to another country. For example, all members of EU countries have the right to live and work in any other EU country, with no need to obtain a visa.

Question 42

What are the consequences of the increased migration?

Answer 42

1. More family diversity.
2. Increased population.
3. Strain on public services.
4. Lower average age of population.

Question 43

How is more family diversity a consequence of the increased migration?

Answer 43

Globalisation has led to greater migration and, as a result, increasing numbers of multicultural families have emerged in the UK and elsewhere. This has led to greater diversity in family structures, role and relationships. For example, African Caribbean immigrants are more likely to live in SPFs (matrifocal families), whereas immigrants from India are more likely to live in extended families.

Question 44

How is increased population a consequence of the increased migration?

Answer 44

The UK population is currently growing, and to a large extent this is due to migration (we have experienced net migration every year since 1994). This leads to issues with a lack of housing, for example, it does provide more workers. Even the part of population increase that is due to natural change (e.g. more births than deaths) is linked to immigrants, as UK-born women have a far lower total fertility rate (1.9) than immigrant women (2.2). Overall, if it were not for the current levels of immigration, the British population would be shrinking.

Question 45

How is strain on public services a consequence of the increased migration?

Answer 45

The way that immigration is leading to an increased population creates a strain on public services such as education and the NHS. There are currently shortages of midwives and primary school places, for example.

Question 46

How is lower average age of population a consequence of the increased migration?

Answer 46

Many immigrants are young adults, which lowers the average age of the British population, meaning the dependency ratio is not as high as it would otherwise be due to the ageing of the British population. This means there are more people of working age who can contribute financially to our society by paying tax on their earning, and by filling gaps in the employment market. However, as immigrants have more babies on average than British people, this results in more young dependents who are also costly to the state (e.g. free education).