Demography Flashcards
What is demography?
The study of characteristics in a human population considering migration, birth/death rates, and average age
What are the reasons women are having fewer children?
AO1/2
- Sharpe: changing position of women - women are now more career focused and no longer prioritise having families
- Increased access to contraception and legalisation of abortion
- Increased access to divorce - don’t want to have children as likelihood of divorce is higher - will wait until certain family is secure
- Harper: decline in infant mortality - adults had a lot more children to replace the kids they had lost - as there has been a fall in infant mortality couples no longer feel the need to have extra children
- Children are an economic liability: child labour is no longer legal so children are no longer an economic asset - cost a parent £271,000 by the age of 18
- Beck and Beck-Gernshein: increased child centeredness - people are now more ‘selfish’ in family planning and plan a child around their career and have them when they feel settled and ready
How can we analyse the reasons why women are having less children?
AO3 (includes statistics)
- Harper said that women are now more career-focused due to increased education opportunities e.g. GIST and WISE which made them more career focused
- Hakim notes an increase in voluntary childlessness
- Infant mortality is 10% higher in the UK’s most deprived areas
- 2010 Coalition Government: capped child benefits to first 2 children - exacerbates economic strain of children
- Marxist view of pester power reflects economic liability children pose
- Average household size has halved since 1990
- In 2020 fertility rate was 1.56 whereas 3.5 in 1900
How can we evaluate the reasons why women are having less children?
AO3
- Myth of the March of Progress: women becoming more career focused is not true for everyone as working class and ethnic minority women still often feel like their place is in the home
- Functionalists would criticise voluntary childlessness as Murdock states reproduction is a function of the family
- Idea that people only have children for economic reasons is deterministic - ignores the role of genuine love and desire to be a parent
What are the reasons for the decline in infant mortality?
AO1/2 - potential 6 marker if anything
Infant mortality rate was 150 in 1900 and only 4 as of 2021. This drop can be due to:
- Better living standards
- Better healthcare
- Better hygiene and sanitation
- Pregnant woman get free immunisations
- Better anti-natal and post-natal care
- The welfare state - NHS makes healthcare both during and after pregancy more accessible thus reducing risk of infant death as they can get the help they need
What are the impacts of the decline in birth rate on institutions?
AO3
- Smaller families means that women are more likely to be free to go to work
- Smaller working population would increase the dependency ratio as less children = less people to grow up and work and pay taxes
- Fewer schools are needed as there are fewer children - those who work with children e.g. teachers, midwifes, social workers will be made redundant - this could pose issues if there ever were to be a baby boom as there wouldn’t be a workforce capable of handling this
What is the difference between immigration, emigration and net migration?
Immigration = number of people entering a country (per 1000)
Emigration = number of people leaving (per 1000)
Net migration = overall population change
Why can’t we trust immigration statistics?
Don’t account for illegal immigrants
What are the key points of immigration in UK history?
1930s - many white migrants due to WW1 and people fleeing countries of war
1950s - Windrush generation - Carribean and Commonwealth immigration
60s/70s - More South Asian migrants coming for work and Ugandan and Knyan refugees
2000s - New EU migrants - Eastern European migrants came in search for work as they could now come here without a VISA
2011 - by this point 10% of the British population were minority ethnics
2016 - BREXIT proposal causes a sharp decrease in immigration and increase in emigration
What are the push and pull factors of migation?
PUSH = War, persecution, corruption, natural disaster
PULL = Better jobs, healthcare and education, human rights, quality of life
What legislation has impacted migration?
AO2
- 1962 + 68 Commonwealth Immigration Acts: restricted immigration from Commonwealth countries
- 1971 Immigration Act: gave commonwealth migrants the right to stay indefinitely
- 1999 Assylum and Immigration Act: difficulty to claim assylum unless had substantial proof
- 2012 Hostile Environment Policy: migrants that came during Windrush were told they did not have the indefinite right to remain e.g. landlords could not rent to undocumented people, employers would be fined if they hired people without checking for documents
What are the pros and cons of immigration?
AO3
PROS:
- Immigrants are net contributors - 95% work full time and pay taxes
- Take jobs the indegenous population do not want e.g. cleaners, care workers
- Average age of UK passport holder is 41 whereas non-UK passport holder is 31 - this decreases the dependency ratio
- Make up largest proportion of key workers - especially NHS
CONS:
- Increased strain on housing - higher demand than supply causes prices to inflate - ONS estimates immigration has caused housing prices to rise by 20% over the last 25 years
- Ethnic tension between minority groups - racial conflict
How has immigration impacted family structures?
(ethnic minorities) AO1/2
- Increase in South Asian families which are typically nuclear or extended. Victor et al found 90% in south england live in multi-generational extended families - stronger family values so more likely to take care of elderly
- Increase in Afro-Carribean families which are more likely to be matrifocal (50% are single parent). Chamberlain - fictive kin - uncles, aunts, family friends and wider community play a greater role in the family and help fill the absent father role
- Increase in Eastern European families has led to the rise in global family networks - father sends back money to family at home - Beck and Beck-Gernsheim - ‘distant love’
How can we analyse the impact of immigration on family structures?
AO3
- Bhatti said that ‘izzat’ (family honour) was a strong focus in south asian households - causes patriarchal gender roles and emphasis on taking care of elderly relatives
- May: People construct their own network of individuals - often draw support from members outside of family
- Levin: geographical mobility has led to the rise in LAT families
What is super diversity?
Due to globalisation, migrants now come from a much wider range of countries and
even within the same ethnicity people come with varying statuses, which leads to a ‘super diversity’
