Demographic change

Demographic change: The term used for the study of the population- Information on population is obtained from lots of sources- Compulsary registration of births, marriages and deaths. MAIN SOURCE IS CENSUS

- In order for goverment to plan its social policy, it is necessary to have accurate info and estimates of future trends in population size and distribution- Important to know whether population is increasing or decreasing, typical family size, proportion of people at school/work= GOVERMENT NEED THIS INFO TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

• 4 Main factors- Influence size of a country's population

- Births

-Deaths

-Emigration- No. of people leaving UK

-Immigration- No. of people entering UK

• Push & Pull factors:

-PUSH: Escaping poverty, lack of jobs, effects of wars, and political & religious prosecution

-PULL: Bettter oppertunities for jobs, higher living standards of living, healthcare, education, religious freedom

- 2013: No. of emigrants were former immigrants from EU returning back to their country

-2013: 2 pull reasons to UK- work related and for formal study

- 5% of immigrants are asylum seekers fleeing from prosecution

• Effects of Globalization:

1. More immigration for EU- EU immigrant make up 38% of all immigrants

2. More undocumented workers (illegally)- Growing influx of UDW exploited by UK employment

3. More asylum seekers- Percieved as large group of undeserving scrougers of benefits- Only makes up 5% of migrants, banned from working, they get zero goverment support. March 2014- 24,000 asylum seekers were trying to escape prosecution

4. Greater cultural diversity- "Hybrid families"

5. Changing families- Migrants from Eastern Europe: Larger families contributed to "baby boom" in 2000.

-Chambers: Globalization- More global family networks, migrants try to maintain relationships. Globalization-"Purchase of intimacy": Criminal trade in trafficking of women. 2010- 17,000 of 30,000 women involved with prostitution were migrants

• The pattern of Migration 1900-2000- 2 peaks:

- 1930's UP UNTIL 1945= Refugees fled to UK. Escape effects of Nazi occupation and persecution

-1950s's and 1960's New Commonwealth= Immigration encouraged by British Goverment, sent recruiting to solve labour shortages, poorely paid occupation- MADE UK AN ETHICALLY DIVERSE COUNTRY

• The pattern of Migration 2000 onwards:

- Since 2004-7 Net migration has fluctuated between 180,000 and 250,00

• Impact of Migration since 2001:

-Every European citizen has the right to work anywhere in UK, Immigration particularly from poorer counties of EU has become political issue since 2001. Growing fear of immigrants- Led to success of anti-immigrant parties- UKIP. Different values which weaken national culture and identity, BUT: Migrant workers play key contributions to the economy 

• What? Growth in UK populations: More births, than deaths and greater life expectancy, Continuing fall in death rate combined with birth rate, slowed down population. 

-Population rose from from 38.3 million in 1901 to 64 million by 2013- Periodic increases in births "Baby Booms": 1960's- Living standards rose; After the 2 world wars ( 1914, 1939)

• The Decline in death rates and IMR and increasing life expectancy: IMR has fallen from around 142 per 1,000 live briths in 1902 to 4.1 per 1,000 in 2012- Smaller proportions of babies are dying in their 1st year. 2012- Men expected to live to 79 and women 83
• Explanations in changes:

- Improved working conditions- Improved hygiene saniation- McKeown: Improvement in LS, better diet is more important than medical advances in wiping out epidemic disease

- Higher living standards- McKeown: Rising LS have further assisted in reducing DR- Health education- Growing awarness of nutrition, Public health- social reforms

-Public health& welfare: Establishment of WS 1948- NHS free healthcare. Childbirth became safer- 800 women globally die in CB every day

• The ageing population: Average age of population is getting higher, smaller proportion of young people. Decline in death rate and increased in life expactancy, more people are living longer. Decline is birth rate meant fewer children are born- Changed overall age structure of population
• Consquence of ageing population: AP generates more family household diversity, Return of the CEF, more beanpole family. Spijker& MacInnes: More people over 65 than children under 15- AP shouldn't be considered as problem. The legal abolitation of age retirement age-65: Employers no longer force workers to retire. Lawton: This gives older people freedm to work-Helps promote growth in economy. 1 in 10 people aged over 65 are in paid work
  
• Advantages of AP:

- A Boost to economy- Lawton: New markets - Family support- Important role in providing financial, pratical and emotional assistence- Less crime, -More social cohesion, community involvement- DOC: 4.9 million people aged 65 took part in volunteering

• Disadvantages of AP:

-Family stress- More work for women- Feminists: Pratical burdens of caring for the elderly fall on women -Growing burden of dependence-"Pension time bomb"- Over 65s consumed 60% of 1 billion prescribed in 2013. Highertaxes. Increasing dependency ratio- More poverty -Loss of skill from labour force

• The decline in the birth rate, fertility rate and average family size: 1900- Birth rates began to decline, from 29 per 1,000 in 1901  to about 13 per 1,000 in 2012. During the 2000s, birth rate began to rise again. The general fertility rate has been declining. Average number of about 2.8 children per woman of child-bearing age in 1961, this had reduced to jusr under 2 by 2012. BUT: "Baby boom" in 2000s. Average household size has halved in the last 100 years, from around 4.6 people to around 2.4 people per household in 2014
  
• Reasons for decline in the birth rate and for smaller families:

- Contraception: More effective, safer and cheaper methods of birth control, disapproval to acceptance

-Compulsary education: Since children were barred from eployment, education became compulsary in 1880. Children become economic liability& a drain on the resources of parents.

-Rising costs of children: Opinion matters Avica in 2011: Size of family is decilining because of costs. Couples  that have just one child has risen from 16% in 1972 and 20% today- 58% of parents with one child cited "money" as the reason. Hirsch: Each child costs £154,000 in 2014

-The changing postition of women: Impact of feminism, equal status, greater employment oppertunities. Different priorities. McRobbie: The once-common aspriation among many young women for marriage& motherhood has now been replaced by a desire for a degree, qualification and rewarding career. Fertility rates have decreased. 20% of women in 1967 were childless at age 45 in 2012. compared to 11% of those born in 1940

- The declining infant mortality rate: Until the 1940s, the absence of a welfare state meant that many parents relied on their children to care for them in old age. So parents therefore often had many children as a safeguard against some of them dying. Parents no longer have more children as security against only a few surviving. 

- A geographically mobile labour force: This factor is encouraging smaller families, because they can more easily pack up and move elsewhere.

-Changing values: Greater pressure on couples, lifelong commitment a loss of freedom and independence and sacrificies. With growing greater individualisation and impact of feminism, women want more from life beyond motherhood. Postmodernists- In an age in which consumer values dominate and people seek to develop their identity through their consumer spending. Couples becoming more reluctant to have children