Topic 7 Demography Flashcards
how much has the birth rate fallen since 1901 to 2014?
The birth rate in the UK has fallen from 28.7 million in 1901 to an estimated 12.2 million in 2014
What are the reasons for a decline in birth rate?
- Changes in the position of women
- Decline in the infant mortality rate
- children becoming an economic liability
- Child-centredness
Why has the changes in the position of women caused a decline in birth rate?
women have increased educational opportunities and there are more women in paid employment. There have been changes in attitudes regarding family life and women’s role within it. They now see other possibilities in life outside of being a mother and a family.
How has the decline in the infant mortality rate caused a decline in birth rates?
If the infant mortality rate is low, and more infants are surviving, parents will have less briths.
How has children becoming an economic liability caused a decline in birth rates?
Until the 19th century, children were economic assets for their children. This has now changed and children are becoming more and more costly. Because of this, parents cannot afford to have lots of children, therefore decide to keep their family small with less children. There are also changing norms of what is expected of what children can have from their parents in material terms, which means the cost of children has risen.
How has child-centredness caused a decline in birth rates?
There has been a shift from quantity to quality as childhood is now socially constructed as a important period. Parents are now having fewer children and lavish the ones they do have.
Who makes up the dependent part of the population?
The non-working population
What are both the short and long term impacts on the dependency ratio when the number of babies being born falls?
short term:
less schools/ maternity hospitals and a reduction in the ‘dependency burden’.
long term:
there will be fewer working adults
How does ‘vanishing children’ impact on childhood?
less children and siblings in the family means that the child feels lonelier. However, the family will be more child-centred and the child will be more lavished.
How has the death rate changed from 1900 to 2012?
In 1900 it was 19 whereas in 2012 it had more than halved to 8.9
What reasons are there for death rates decreasing?
- improved nutrition
- medical improvements
- smoking and diet
- public health
- other social changes
How has improved nutrition caused a decrease in death rates?
- Mckeowen argues that improved nutrition has accounted for up to half the reduction in death rates.
- reduced the number of deaths from tuberculosis
- Better nutrition increased the survival chances of those who became infected
How has medical improvements caused a decrease in death rates?
- after the 1950s, improved medical knowledge, technique and organisation did help to reduce death rates
- improved medication like by pass surgery have reduced deaths from heart disease by 1/3
- advances like blood transfusions and improved maternity services
How has smoking and diet caused a decrease in death rates?
- reduction in number of people smoking
- obesity has now replaced smoking as the new lifestyle epidemic
- although obesity has drastically increased, deaths from obesity are low
How have public health issues caused a decrease in death rates?
- in the 20th century, more effective central and local government with the power to enforce laws led to a range of improvements in public health and quality of the environment.
- improvements in housing, water, sewage disposal
- the clean air acts reduced air pollution
How have other social changes caused a decrease in death rates?
- decline in dangerous manual occupations like mining
- smaller family sizes reduce the rate of transmission of infections
- greater public knowledge about the cause of illness
- lifestyle changes
- higher incomes allowing for healthier lifestyles
What are the effects of an ageing population on public services?
the demand for health and social care services increases particularly age 75+ but many older adults are in good health.
What do marxists say about death rates?
higher death rates amongst working class due to poor working conditions and higher stress levels, whilst making money for the rich
What are the effects an ageing population by having one person households?
More pensioners living in houses alone leads to a housing shortage for families.
What are the effects of the ageing population on the dependency ratio?
The dependency ratio will increase because the number of dependent people increase. However, policies have been put in place to decrease the dependency ration, such as raising the age at which you can draw your pension and raising retirement age. It is also offset by a reduction in the younger people who need to be provided for.
Is ageing a problem?
YES
- strain on services
- one person households
-burden on the family
NO
- age is socially constructed and society makes it a problem through negative stereotyping
- older adults are wise and have more experience
- - can help with childcare
- many older adults have active lifestyles
According to Hirsch, what are solutions to ageism?
- financing a longer old age can be done through paying more from savings and in tax whilst working
- raising the retirement age
- encouraging older people to ‘trade down’ for example, the bedroom tax
What do Marxists argue about ageism?
Ageism is a result of ‘structured dependency’.
The old are largely excluded from paid work, leaving them economically dependent on their families or the state.
Compulsory retirement means they are stigmatised.
Phillipson argues that the old are of no use to capitalism because they are no longer productive
What do postmodernists say about ageism?
Postmodernists argue that fixed orderly life stages have broken down. Trends such as children dressing in adult styles, early retirement and later marriage all blur the boundaries between different life stages. Individuals now have greater choices, whatever their age.
What is the impact of migration on the population structure?
working age immigrants help the lower the dependency. However, they have more children which also increases it.
By the longer a group is settled, the closer their fertility comes to the national average.
Define globalisation
Globalisation is the idea that barriers between societies are disappearing and people are becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries. Globalisation is the result of many processes, including the growth of communication systems and global media.
Cohen distinguishes between three different types of migrant, what are they?
- Citizens -> with full citizenship rights
- Denizens -> privileged foreign nationals
- Helots -> (slaves) are the most exploited groups. They are a reserve army of cheap labour and regarded as ‘disposable units of labour power’.
According to Eriksen, what has globalisation created more of?
According to Eriksen globalisation has created more diverse migration patterns, which back and forth movements of people through networks rather than permanent settlement in another country.
As a result, migrants are less likely to see themselves as belonging to one culture, instead they may develop ‘transnational’ ‘neither/nor’ identities.
What do Ehrenreich and Hochshild say about migration?
Feminisation of migration
Ehrenheich and Hochshild observe that care work, domestic work and sex work in the UK and USA are increasingly carried out by women from poor countries.
According to Shutes, how many adult nurses in the UK are migrants?
40%
Suggest two reasons for class differences in infant mortality?
higher class have more money to live better and receive better healthcare.
Define ageism
prejudice or discrimination because of someone’s age.
What is a hybrid identity?
identities made up of two different sources
What did the assimilation policy aim to do?
- aimed to encourage migrants to adopt the values, language and customs of the host country
- however, some with hybrid identities may not be willing to abandon their culture
What does Castells argue about assimilationist policies?
- they’re counterproductive because they mark out minority groups as ‘culturally backward’.
- this can lead to minorities emphasising their differences
What does multiculturalism do?
- accepts that migrants may wish to retain a separate culture
What do critics argue about multicultural education policies?
- they celebrate shallow diversity and superficial cultural differences whilst failing to deeper problems facing children from migrant backgrounds
outline 2 ways falling birthrates have affected gender roles?
- less children so women are able to work. chester neo conventional family, gender roles are symmetrical - wilmott and young
- because there’s less children men are now staying at home to help. silver and shore- new technologies to help with housework
