Demography - The Ageing Population

Question 1

what is a way of illustrating the changing age profile of the population?

Answer 1

the age pyramid

Question 2

what do the age pyramids show

Answer 2

these show how older age groups are growing as a proportion of the population, while younger groups are shrinking.

Question 3

who speaks on the age pyramids and what do they say regrarding it

Answer 3

Hirsch
he notes that the traditional age ‘pyramid’ is disappearing and being replaced by more or less equal-sized ‘blocks’ representing the different age groups

Question 4

what are the three factors that the ageing of the population is caused by

Answer 4

• Increasing life expectancy = people are living longer into old age
• Declining infant mortality = so that nowadays hardly anyone dies early in life
• Declining fertility = fewer young people are being born in relation to the number of young people in the population.

Question 5

what effect does the ageing population have on public services but what should we be aware of

Answer 5

older people consume a larger proportion of services such as health and social care than other age groups. [INCREASED EXPENDITURE]

usually true of ‘old old’ (75+) against ‘young old’ (65-74)

however, we should be aware of over-generalising, since many people remain in relatively good health well into age

Question 6

what is another effect that the ageing population has on public services

Answer 6

changes to polices and provision of housing, transport or other services

Question 7

what effect does the ageing population has on one-person pensioner households and what are the gender differences

Answer 7

the number of pensioners living alone has increased and one person pensioner households now account for about one in eight of all households.

most of these are female, both because women generally live longer than men, and because they are usually younger than their husbands.

Question 8

what is the ‘feminisation of later life’

Answer 8

among the over 75s, there are twice as many women as men

Question 9

why are the non-working old an economic dependent group and how

Answer 9

they need to be provided for by those of working age, for example through taxation to pay for pensions and health care

Question 10

as the number of retired people rises, this increases …

Answer 10

the dependency ratio and the burden on the working class.

Question 11

what is a criticism of the dependency ratio

Answer 11

that it would be wrong to assume that ‘old’ necessarily equals ‘economically dependent’

Question 12

what is an example of this criticism

Answer 12

the age at which people can draw their pension is rising

Question 13

while an increase in the number of old people raises the dependency ratio …

Answer 13

in an ageing population this is offset by a declining number of dependent children.

Question 14

what is one consequence of the ageing population in modern society? and what is it

Answer 14

the growth of ageism - the negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people on the basis of their age.

Question 15

in what ways does aegism towards older people show itself

Answer 15

• discrimination in employment
• unequal treatment in healthcare

Question 16

what is the discourse of old age and ageing

Answer 16

it has been constructed as a ‘problem’ for example in terms of the cost of pensions or healthcare for the old.

Question 17

what does sociologists argue ageism is the result of and

Answer 17

structured dependency - the old are largely excluded from paid work, leaving them economically dependent on their families or the state

Question 18

in modern society how are our identity and status determined

Answer 18

by our role in production

Question 19

what do those excluded from production by compulsory retirement have?

Answer 19

a dependent status and a stigmatised identity.

Question 20

who following a marxist perspective argues regarding modern society and old age?

Answer 20

Philipson - argues that the old are of no use to capitalism because they are no longer productive

Question 21

what is the result of the marxist perspective

Answer 21

the state is unwilling to support them adequately and so the family, especially female relatives, often has to take responsibility for their care.

Question 22

in modern society what is it life like? what is age like

Answer 22

life is structured into a fixed series of stages, such as childhood, youth …
age becomes important in role allocation, creating fixed life stages and age-related identities, such as worker or pensioner. the old are therefore excluded from a role in the labour force and made dependent and powerless

Question 23

what do postmodernists argue regarding society as fixed

Answer 23

that the fixed, orderly stages of the life course have broken down

Question 24

provide examples of why postmodernists believe fixed society has broken down

Answer 24

trends such as children dressing in adult styles, later marriages and early retirements all begin to blur the boundaries between the life stages. this gives individuals a greater choice of lifestyle, whatever their age.

Question 25

what is the key to our identities in postmodern society?

Answer 25

consumption not production, we can now define ourselves by what we consume

Question 26

what does hunt argue about postmodern society and lifestyle

Answer 26

hunt argues that because we can define ourselves by what we consume, this means we can choose a lifestyle and identity regardless of age no longer determines who we are or how we live.

Question 27

what is the result of consumerism and being able to choose a lifestyle and provide examples

Answer 27

as a result, the old become a market for a vast range of ‘body maintenance’ or ‘rejuvenation’ goods and services through which they can create their identities.

eg;
- cosmetic surgery
- exercise equipment
- gym membership
- anti-ageing products

Question 28

what do these trends of choosing a lifestyle lead to

Answer 28

these trends begin to break down stereotypes found in modern society.

Question 29

what are two other features of postmodern society that also undermine old age as a stigmatised life stage

Answer 29

• the centrality of the media
• the emphasis on surface features

Question 30

what does the centrality of the media do to undermine old age

Answer 30

media images now portray positive aspects of the lifestyles of the elderly

Question 31

how does the emphasis on surface features undermine old age

Answer 31

the body becomes a surface on which we can write identities. anti-ageing products enable the old to write different identities for themselves

Question 32

who argues that inequalities such as class and gender remain important

Answer 32

pilcher

Question 33

why is class inequalities important

Answer 33

the middle class have better occupational pensions and greater savings from higher salaries. poorer old people have a shorter life expectancy and suffer more infirmity (making it more difficult to maintain a youthful self-identity)

Question 34

why is gender inequalities important

Answer 34

women’s lower earnings and career breaks as carers mean lower pensions. they are also subject to sexist as well as ageist stereotyping, for example being described as ‘old hags’

Question 35

what theory understates the importance of such inequalities of class and gender

Answer 35

postmodernists

Question 36

what evidence can we provide that shows that older people also face discrimination that limits their choices?

Answer 36

age concern found that 29% more people reported suffering age discrimination than any other form.

Question 37

what theorist is related the policy implications

Answer 37

Hirsch

Question 38

what does Hirsch say regarding policy implications

Answer 38

that a number of important social policies will need to change to tackle the new problems posed by an ageing population.

Question 39

what will be the main problem for policy implications

Answer 39

how to finance a longer period of old age.

Question 40

what is the solution for financing a longer period of old age

Answer 40

paying more into our savings and taxes while we are working, or by working for longer, or both

Question 41

what other policies would need to be change and what would this do

Answer 41

housing policy may need to change to encourage older people to ‘trade down’ into smaller accommodation.

this would release wealth to improve their standard of living and free up housing for younger people.

Question 42

what does Hirsch recognise comes with these changes

Answer 42

these policy changes also require a cultural change in our attitudes towards old age

Question 43

what does his view illustrate and provide an example

Answer 43

the notion that old age is a social construct- not a fixed, purely biological fact, but something shaped and defined by society.

for example- in an ageing society, our idea of how old is old enough to retire may change.