Unit 1.3: Challenges and Oppurtunities

Question 1

Advantages of an ageing population

Answer 1

• Elderly may have skills (social) and training
• Some employers especially supermarkets and DIY/furniture stores prefer them to younger workers

Question 2

Trends in ageing/greying

Answer 2

• HICs tend to have more aging populations (e.g. most of the EU and Japan)
• Stage 5 in DTM
• Women’s education and emancipation
• High cost of raising children
• Long working hours

Question 3

Trends in family size

Answer 3

• Average household size ranges from 3 to 6 people (<3 considered small, >5 considered big)
• Overall household size declined almost everywhere (Kenya, France)
• In Asia and Africa, households tend to have more children than those in Europe
• Average household size declining due to cost of education and healthcare rising

Question 4

Trends in sex ratios

Answer 4

Imbalance due to:
- Cultural and social preferences for one gender leading to sex-selective abortion

• Bias in pro-natal or anti-natal policies
• War casualties
• Religious practices

Question 5

Why an Anti-Natalist Policy was needed in China

Answer 5

• Conversion to a labor driven economy due to the Great Leap Forward in 1958
• Pushing the total fertility rate to around 6 in the 60s
• Lead to widespread famine in 1962, causing millions to die, which was worsened due to the large number of young individuals

Question 6

Slogan for the Anti-Natalist Policy in China

Answer 6

Wan Xi Shao = Later, Longer, Fewer

(Later marriages, longer gaps between births, fewer births)

Question 7

How The Anti-Natalist Policy worked/was enforced in China

Answer 7

• Pay rises
• Family benefits (free education, helath care)
• Propaganda (shao sheng = fewer births, quickly richer)
• Not issuing birth certificates for excess

Question 8

Positive impacts of the Anti-Natalist Policy in China

Answer 8

• 400m fewer births
• People got wealthier
• Women have more opportunities and careers
• Better healthcare
• Educated population

Question 9

Negative impacts of the Anti-Natalist Policy in China

Answer 9

• Gender imbalance (30m excess in males)
• 1-2-4 (one person has to take care of the elders)
• Impact on economy due to aging population
• Loss of human rights
• Unregistered children (hard to get any public benefits)

Question 10

What was the Pro-Natalist Policy in France called?

Answer 10

Code de la Famille

Question 11

Why was the Pro-Natalist Policy in France needed?

Answer 11

• Total fertility rate within the average fertility rate diminishing compared to the rest of the EU
• France had one of the lowest fertility rates

Question 12

Benefits of the Pro-Natalist Policy in France

Answer 12

• Longer Paternity + maternity leave (20 weeks -> 40 weeks for 3rd child)
• Higher child benefits (financial incentive, more children = more income)
• Improved tax allowances (bigger family, better tax allowance)
• Pension schemes for mothers (bigger family, earlier the mother can retire)
• Provision of childcare

Question 13

Consequences of the Pro-Natalist Policy in France

Answer 13

• 2006: Overtook ireland to become highest-fertility nation (2 per women)
• > 800,000 births, which was the highest since 1981

Question 14

Limitations of the Pro-Natalist Policy in France

Answer 14

• Costed the government billions.
• If the policy failed, the country could have gone bankrupt
• Success of the policy is debatable
• Increase in births could have been caused by immigration across the entirety of Europe, or the improved economic climate