Topic 4 - Demography Flashcards
The 4 factors affecting the size of the population are:
Births: how many babies are being born
Deaths: How many people die
Immigration: how many people enter the country from elsewhere
Emigration: how many people leave the country to live elsewhere
Demography
The study of populations and their characteristics:
Size: Is the population large or small?
Age structure: Is the average age of the population rising or falling?
Birth Rate:
Number of live births per thousand of the population per year.
Changes in birth rate since 1900
there has been a long-term decline in number of births since 1900.
However, there have been fluctuations in births, with ‘baby booms’
What do you think the reason was for these ‘baby booms’ (increase in births)?
The first two came after the two world wars. As returning servicemen and their partners started families that they postponed during the wars years.
The third, in response to growing economic prosperity.
Total Fertility Rate
average number of children women have, who are of childbearing age (usually 15-44 years old).
Reasons for the decline in Birth Rates
Changes in Women’s position
Decline in the infant mortality rate
Children are now an economic reliability
Child-centredness
Changes in position of women
- How it impacts on fertility rate
Women are choosing to have fewer children, as they focus on careers rather than being a full time housewife.
Changes in position of women - How and why this impacts on family/society
Smaller families, couples having children later in life, more childless couples.
Changes in position of women - Research/ evidence to support this
Sarah Harper (2012): education of women is the most important reason for the long-term fall in birth and fertility rates. Educated women more likely to use family planning. Also see other possibilities apart from traditional roles. Delayed childbearing - in order to pursue a career. In 2012, 1 in 5 women aged 45 were childless. Cultural norms about family size have changed.
Decline in the infant mortality rate - How it impacts on fertility rate
Couples are having fewer children, as they don’t need big families to replace children who die young.
Decline in the infant mortality rate - How and why this impacts on family/society
Smaller families, more child-centred families.
Decline in the infant mortality rate - Research/ evidence to support this
Sarah Harper (2012): a fall in IMR leads to a fall in birth rate. Infants are surviving, so parents need to have fewer of them
DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS:
In 1900, the IMR for the UK was 154. 15% of babies died in their first year. In 1950, IMR was 30. In 2012, IMR stood at 4.
REASONS WHY: Better housing, Better nutrition, Better knowledge, Improved healthcare, Less married women working
Children have become an economic liability - How it impacts on fertility rate
Ban on child labour and introduction of compulsory education made children an economic liability, not asset.
Children have become an economic liability - How and why this impacts on family/society
Smaller families particularly for working class families who cannot financially support many children
Children have become an economic liability - Research/ evidence to support this
Until late 19th Century, children were economic assets as they could be sent out to work from an early age.
Laws: Banning child labour, compulsory schooling and raising the school leaving age = children remain economicall dependent
Changing norms: about what children have a right to expect from parents in material terms mean that the cost of bringing up children has risen = more financial pressure
Child centeredness - How it impacts on fertility rate
Parents are now more focused on giving children ‘the best’, so have fewer in order to spend more time and money on them.
Child centeredness - How and why this impacts on family/society
Smaller families, rise of ‘child-centred society’, rising standards of living and education. Toxic childhood?
Child centeredness - Research/ evidence to support this
golden age of childhood
Shift from quantity to quality - parents now have fewer children and focus more attention and resources on the few children they have
Infant mortality rate
number of infants who die before their 1st birthday per 1000 live births
Future Trends in Birth Rates
Birth rates, IMR, and family sizes have fallen as a result of these factors.
However (AO3)… since 2001 there has been a slight increase in births.
One reason for this:
Increase in immigration = on average mothers from outside the UK have a higher fertility rate than those born in UK.
How could changes in birth rates impact the family?
Smaller families contribute to rise of beanpole family - close links between children, parents, grandparents.
Smaller families mean women are more likely free to go to work. Creating dual-earner couples/families.
How could changes in birth rates impact the public services and government policies?
Reduces number and types of houses that need to be built.
Fewer schools, maternity, and child health services are needed.
Lowers the cost of maternity and paternity leave.
(Saving taxpayers money).
HOWEVER,
These are all political decisions. For example, instead of reducing number of schools, the government could decide on smaller class sizes.
Reasons for the ageing population
Death Rate decrease + Birth Rate decrease
= Ageing population
ageing population
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
Reasons for the ageing population
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
‘Age Pyramids’
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.
public services as an effect of and ageing population
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.
families as an effect of an ageing population
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).
dependency ratio as an effect of an ageing population
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.
Ageism
Ageism = the negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people on basis of their age.
where is ageism shown
Discrimination in employment
Unequal treatment in health care
Discourse = ageing constructed as a problem
Modern Society:
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.
Ageism is the result of ‘structured dependency’
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.
Postmodernism
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
Inequalities among the old
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
Policy Implications
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’.
EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN FERTILITY
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.
EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN FERTILITY on the DEPENDENCY RATIO
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.
death rate
The death rate is the number of deaths per thousand in the population per year.
Trends in the death rate
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.
Reasons for decline in death rate: 1850-1970
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
Reasons for decline in death rate: 1950s onwards
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
Explaining reasons for the declining death rate
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
Reason 1: Improved nutrition
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
Reason 2: Medical improvements
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
Reason 3: Smoking and diet
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
Reason 4: Public Health Measures
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
Other Social Changes
that helped the decline of the death rate
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
Life expectancy
how long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live.
Class, gender and regional differences:
life expectancy
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
Can you think of 2 reasons why life expectancy is lower in men who have a manual job?
- Physically strenuous jobs may put long-term strain on the body.
- Manual jobs often associated with lower incomes than professional jobs, leading to lower overall standards of living (food, housing etc.) that affect health.
Migration
The movement of people from place to place
Immigration
Movement of people into a society
Emigration
Movement of people out of a society
Net Migration
The difference between the number of immigrants and the number of emigrants
1900 - Second World War
Irish
Eastern/Central European Jews
People of British descent from Canada and the US
1950s
Caribbean
Consequence - more ethnic diversity (14% of population were ethnic minorities in 2011)
1960s and 70s
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)
1962-1990
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
Impact of migration on UK population structure: Population size
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
Impact of migration on UK population structure: Age structure
Immigration lowers the average age of the population:
Directly: immigrants are generally younger
Indirectly: being younger, immigrants are more fertile and have more babies
Impact of migration on UK population structure: Dependency ratio
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
Push of emmigration
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
pull of immigration
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
Globalisation:
Barriers between societies are disappearing
People are becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries
How has globalisation impacted on migration?
Acceleration
Differentiation
Feminisation of migration
Acceleration
A speeding up of the rate of migration e.g. between 2003-2013, international migration increased by 33%
Differentiation
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
class differences and types of migrants
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
Globalisation impacting migration - Feminisation
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
In western countries like the UK and USA care work, domestic work and sex work are increasingly done by women from poor countries as a result of:
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
Migration and Politics
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’
Multiculturalism
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)
