Demography Flashcards
What is meant by birth rate?
The number of live births per thousand of the population per year
What is happening to the birth rate?
Decreasing
What is the total fertility rate? and what is the trend
The average number of children women will have during their fertile years
-Fell to 1.58 children in 2020 per woman
How can women’s changing position reflect the decline in birth rate?
Harper- more women are educated so change in mindset away from being housewives
-delay/ abort childbearing to pursue a career
How can a decline in the infant mortality rate explain the decline in birth rate?
If children die, parents have more to replace lost ones. Less children dying so less replacements born
How has the infant mortality rate decreased?
improved housing/better sanitations=less infection
-better nutrition
-Better knowledge of child health due to media
-Immunisations
How can the fact children are now an economic liability explain decline in birth rate?
-Laws banning child labour/compulsury schooling= students in school=more dependent
as children are expensive and more dependent, less are had
How can child centeredness lead to a decrease in birth rate?
Prioritisation of childhood ‘golden age’ =More focus on quality vs quantity
Why was there a slight increase in birth rates in the 21st century?
Increase in immigration by mothers who have a higher fertility rate tha Uk mothers
How can changes in fertility affect the family
Smaller families
-more freedom for women to work= more dual earner households
How can changes in fertility affect the dependency ratio?
Initially, it reduces burden of dependency on working pop
-Long term= fewer working adults= increase in burden of dependency
What is the death rate?
The number of deaths per thousand of the population per year
How can improved nutrition explain the decline in death rate? (+A03)
McKeown Better resistance to infection
-However, doesnt explain why women still live longer than males although they eat less of the food
How can medical improvements explain the decline in death rate?
Introduction of antibiotics/medication, immunisations,
-More likely to be treated for illnesses as well as ‘diseases of the affluent’ due to NHS provisions
How have social policies and public health measures lead to the decline in the death rate
Policies enforcing better housing, purer drinking water and improved sewage disposal methods pausterising of milk
-Clean air act after 1952 smog
What is the averge life expectancy for a man and woman
Man; 87 women; 90
What 3 things cause the ageing population
-Increasing life expectancy
-Declining infant mortality
-declining fertility
What are the effects of the ageing population?
-Increase in public services
-Increase in one person pensioner households(mostly women)
-Increase in dependency ratio
what is ageism?
The unequal treatment of people based on age
What is the modernist view of old age?
Ageism is a result of ‘structured dependency. Old excluded from paid work so are dependent
-Phillipson (Marxist) argue they are no use to capitalism so not taken care of
What is the postmodernist view of old age?
The boundary between life stages has been blurred (later marriage/ earlyretirement children dressing as adults)
Elderly can cradft their identities through our media consumption(cosmetic surgery/anti-ageing/excercise)
how are there inequalities among the old?
womens lower earnings=less pensions
m/c better jobs=better pensions
How can policies tackle the ageing population?
-Working for longer/paying more taxes during working age to account for longer period of old age
-‘sizing down’ to smaller houses to free up space and reduce cost
What is the impact of migration on the UK population structure?
-Increase in population size
-Immigrants lower age of population; directly and indirectly (more fertile)
-Decreases dependency ratio, but also increases by having kids
