Topic 4 - Demography Flashcards

Question

ageing population

Answer 1

Less people dying → people getting older = average age increased. Less babies being born → average age isn’t pulled down by a high number of young people

Answer 2

Increased life expectancy - people are living longer due to improvements in health care and nutrition Declining infant mortality rate - babies more likely to survive first year of life due to improvements in health care and nutrition Declining fertility rate - fewer children being born due to changes in women’s position and attitudes towards children

Answer 3

Donald Hirsch (2005) Traditional ‘age pyramids’ are disappearing and being replaced by more or less equal-sized ‘blocks’. It is estimated that in 2041, there will be as many 78 year olds as five years olds.

Answer 4

Older people consume a larger proportion of services More people using the NHS and social care services Increased expenditure on services such as housing (care homes) and transport (free bus passes) This creates a pressure for families to provide care for elderly family members to ease this pressure (usually falls to women) However, we should be aware of over-generalising as many people remain in good health, well into old age.

Answer 5

One-person pensioner households now account for 12.5% or 1 in 8 households. Most of these are female, as women generally marry younger and live longer. Among over 75s, there are twice as many women as men - This has been labelled the ‘feminisation’ of later life. Beanpole families are also on the rise as older people are living longer. They are able to provide childcare for their grandchildren. In exchange, they may also live with their children, creating three generation households (1 in 10 elderly people do this).

Answer 6

Relationship between the size of the working part of the population and size of the non-working (dependent) part of the population. Pensioners are economically dependent on working people (through taxes). e.g. taxation to pay for pensions and health care. As number of retired people increases → increases dependency ratio and burden on working population. Ageing population creates economic burden. HOWEVER, ‘old’ does not necessarily mean economically dependent - the age of retirement is rising. In 2020 = 66, in 2026 = 67.

Answer 7

Ageism = the negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people on basis of their age.

Answer 8

Discrimination in employment Unequal treatment in health care Discourse = ageing constructed as a problem

Answer 9

Many modernists (including Marxists) argue that ageism is a problem because in our money-driven society, we look down on those not able to contribute as much economically.

Answer 10

The old are excluded from paid work = they are economically dependent on families or the state. Life is structured into fixed series of stages. Age related identities (worker / pensioner). Old are excluded from role in labour force and made dependent and powerless.

Answer 11

Postmodernists think that we live in a changing world where traditional views of age and life stages have broken down. Greater choice in life style - children dressing as adults, later marriage, early retirement. Hunt, 2005 - we can choose a lifestyle and identity. The old become a market for a vast range of body maintenance and rejuvenation goods/services. e.g., gym, anti-aging products, cosmetic surgery = slow down ageing, look youthful for longer. They can choose to work for longer - no longer a compulsory retirement age

Answer 12

**Pilcher (1995)** Class - the middle class have higher pensions and more savings from higher salaries, allowing them a better quality of life in old age. Poorer old people have a shorter life expectancy and poorer health, making it more difficult to maintain a youthful self-identity. Gender - Women have lower earnings and career breaks as carers meaning they have lower pensions. They are also subject to ageism AND sexism AO3 - Postmodernists can be criticised for failing to recognise these limitations

Answer 13

Hirsh (2005)- “ a number of social policies need to change in order to tackle problems faced by an ageing population” How to finance a longer period of old age: Paying more while working (pensions, savings, taxes) Working longer - increase retirement age Change in housing policy - encourage older people to ‘trade down’.

Answer 14

The family Smaller families means women are more likely to be free to go to work, creating more dual-earner couples Smaller families contribute to the rise of the beanpole family- close links between children, (grand)parents Public services / government policies In the short-term, fewer schools, child health and maternity services needed and fewer costs generated by parental leave from work. This saves taxpayers money.

Answer 15

Children are dependent on the earnings and taxes of their parents So a falling birth rate in the short-term reduces the burden of dependency BUT in the long term, it means fewer working age people when these children grow up. The burden of dependency grows as the working (independent) population shrinks. This may mean that workers have to pay more tax and/or work for longer in order to pay for services.

Answer 16

The death rate is the number of deaths per thousand in the population per year.

Answer 17

In the UK, the overall number of deaths has remained fairly stable since 1900 However, the population has increased hugely since 1900, meaning that the death rate has fallen since 1900.

Answer 18

According to **Tranter (1996)** over three-quarters of the decline in the death rate from about 1850-1970 was due to a fall in the number of deaths from infectious diseases such as diphtheria, measles, smallpox, typhoid and tuberculosis (TB). infants and children

Answer 19

By the 1950s, so-called ‘diseases of affluence’ (wealth) such as heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes had replaced infectious diseases as the main cause of death. These diseases affect the middle aged and old more than the young. Therefore there has been a shift from a higher death rate among young people (from infectious disease) to a higher death rate for older people

Answer 20

It is argued that social factors have had the main impact on the decline in infectious diseases, rather than natural resistance or the diseases becoming less powerful, including: Improved nutrition Medical improvements Smoking and diet Public health measures

Answer 21

McKeown (1972) argues that improved nutrition accounted for up to half of the reduction on death rates from infectious diseases, and was particularly important in the case of TB Better nutrition increased resistance to infection and increased the survival chances of those that did get infected Evaluation: McKeown does not explain why females, who get a smaller share of the family food supply, lived longer than males He also doesn’t explain why deaths from some infectious diseases e.g. measles, actually rose at a time of improving nutrition

Answer 22

Before the 1950s, medical improvements played almost no part in the reduction of deaths from infectious diseases After the 1950, improved medical knowledge, techniques and organisation did help reduce death rates E.g. introduction of antibiotics, immunisation, blood transfusion improved maternity services and antenatal care E.g introduction of the NHS (National Health Service) in 1948 More recently, improved medication and heart bypass surgery have reduced deaths from heart disease by a third

Answer 23

**Harper** argues that the greatest fall in death rates in recent decades has come from a reduction in the number of people smoking However, in the 21st century, obesity has replaced smoking as the new lifestyle epidemic e.g. in 2021 one third of Britain’s adults were classed as obsese and 20% of Year 6 childrenHowever, unlike smoking, deaths from obesity have stayed low as a result of drug therapies **Harper** suggests we may be moving towards an ‘American’ health culture, where lifestyles are unhealthy but a long life is achieved through expensive medication - **a ‘Fix it’, rather than prevent it, attitude**

Answer 24

Governments of the 20th century have passed and enforced laws that led to a range of improvements on public health and the quality of the environment, including: Improvements in housing - producing better ventilated, less overcrowded housing Purer drinking water - previously this would carry infectious diseases Laws to combat food and drink adulteration - this is when the quality of food is significantly reduced by removing some of it and replacing it with inferior substances without declaring it Improved sewage disposal methods - meant diseases were flushed away and killed quickly The Clean Air Acts reduced air pollution, such as a the smog that led to 12,000 deaths in 1952

Answer 25

Decline of dangerous manual occupations, such as mining, steelworks, shipyard work etc. Smaller families meant that the chances of infectious diseases spreading were reduced Greater knowledge of the causes of illness among the general public Higher incomes allow for a healthier lifestyle

Answer 26

how long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live.

Answer 27

Women still generally live longer than men. Working class men in unskilled jobs are nearly 3 times more likely to die before they are 65 compared to men in managerial jobs. People in the North of England and in Scotland are also likely to live shorter lives. People living in poorer areas die on average 7 years earlier than those in the richest areas

Answer 28

1. Physically strenuous jobs may put long-term strain on the body. 2. Manual jobs often associated with lower incomes than professional jobs, leading to lower overall standards of living (food, housing etc.) that affect health.

Answer 29

The movement of people from place to place

Answer 30

Movement of people into a society

Answer 31

Movement of people out of a society

Answer 32

The difference between the number of immigrants and the number of emigrants

Answer 33

Irish Eastern/Central European Jews People of British descent from Canada and the US

Answer 34

Caribbean Consequence - more ethnic diversity (14% of population were ethnic minorities in 2011)

Answer 35

South Asians from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka East African Asians from Kenya and Uganda Consequence - more ethnic diversity (14% of population were ethnic minorities in 2011)

Answer 36

Series of immigration acts placed severe restrictions on non-white immigration Immigration mainly from EU countries (white) By 1980s, non-whites were only ¼ of all immigrants

Answer 37

UK population is growing Net migration is high - more immigration than emigration More births - non-UK born mothers have more children (accounting for 25% of all births) If it wasn’t for the high birth rate among immigrants, the UK population would be shrinking

Answer 38

Immigration lowers the average age of the population: Directly: immigrants are generally younger Indirectly: being younger, immigrants are more fertile and have more babies

Answer 39

Immigrants more likely to be working age - helps lower the dependency ratio Immigrants have more children - increasing the dependency ratio. They also tend to retire to their country of origin, further reducing the DR Over time these children will join the workforce lowering the dependency ratio again

Answer 40

Push: To flee a natural disaster To escape war To escape persecution (e.g. because of religion or sexuality) High unemployment and/or low wages Food shortages

Answer 41

Pull: To fill labour shortages (invited by government) For better services and amenities (university/hospitals) For a better standard of living For a nicer environment/climate To find a job/career To be with relatives or a loved one

Answer 42

Barriers between societies are disappearing People are becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries

Answer 43

Acceleration Differentiation Feminisation of migration

Answer 44

A speeding up of the rate of migration e.g. between 2003-2013, international migration increased by 33%

Answer 45

There are different types of migrant e.g. **permanent settlers, temporary workers, spouses, forced migrants like refugees.** Some might have legal entitlement, others enter without permission Globalisation is increasing the diversity of types of migrant Super diversity **Vertovec (2007):** since the 1990s, globalisation has led to super diversity - migrants come from a wider range of countries and there are differences within a single ethnic group e.g. citizens or spouses, different religions/cultures

Answer 46

**Cohen (2006)** - three types of migrant: Citizens: full citizenship rights Denizens: privileged foreign nationals welcomed by the state e.g. highly paid employees of multinational companies Helots: (literally slaves) found in unskilled poorly paid work, including illegally trafficked workers and domestic servants

Answer 47

In the past most migrant were men. Now, almost half are female Ehrenreich and Hochschild (2003): This has led to the globalisation of the gender division of labour - female migrants are fitted into patriarchal stereotypes about women’s roles as carers or providers of sexual services

Answer 48

Expansion of service occupations in western countries has led to increase in demand for female labour e.g. adult care homes Western women have joined the labour force and are less willing or able to perform domestic labour Failure of the state to provide adequate childcare

Answer 49

Assimilation This was the first state policy approach to immigration It aimed to encourage immigrants to adopt the language and customs of the host nation and make them ‘like us’ Evaluation However, migrants may not be willing to abandon their culture or see themselves belonging to one single national state (especially those with hybrid identities) **Castels (2000)** - assimilationist policies mark out minority groups as culturally backward or ‘other’

Answer 50

Multiculturalism accepts that migrants may wish to keep hold of a separate culture However, states may limit this to superficial aspects of diversity **Eriksen:** Shallow diversity: e.g. regarding chicken tikka as Britain’s national dish is acceptable to the state Deep diversity: e.g. such as arranged marriage or veiling of women, is not acceptable to the state (France in 2010 made this illegal)