Demography

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Births

  • The birth rate: No. live births per 1,000 of the population per year (long-term decline)
  • The fertility rate: Avrg. no. children a woman will have during her fertile years (long-term decline)

Two main trends:

  • More women remaining childless
  • Women are having children later (avrg. 30 yrs at 1st child)

Reasons for the fall in birth rate:

  • Changes in the position of women
  • Fall in IMR
  • Children = economic liability
  • Child-centredness

Effects of falling birth rate:

  • Reduces "burden of dependency" on the working population
  • Fewer public services e.g. schools & parental leave
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Deaths

  • Number of deaths (600,000 per year) has remained static
  • The death rate: No. deaths per 1,000 of the pop. per year (long-term decline)
  • Life expectancy: How long a person can reasonably expect to live (long-term increase)

Reasons for the decline in the death rate:

  • Improved nutrition
  • Medical improvements
  • Public health improvements
  • Other social changes e.g. decline of dangerous ocupations, smaller family sizes, higher incomes
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The Ageing Population

Three reasons for the ageing population:

  • Increasing life expectancy
  • Low IMR
  • Declining fertility

Effects of the ageing population:

  • Public services e.g. carers & hospitals
  • More one-person pensioner households
  • Rising dependency ratio
  • Ageism

Ageism, modernity & postmodernity:

  • Old age in modern society: Life stages fixed e.g. pupil, worker, pensioner. Identity & status focused on production
  • Old age in postmodern society: Individuals have greater choice. Identity & status defined by consumption

Inequality amongst the old:

  • Class: m/c = better savings & pensions & longer life expectancy
  • Gender: Women = lower earnings mean lower pensions
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Migration

Immigration

  • 1900-1940s: Largest immigrant groups were Irish, European Jews & people of British descent from Canada & the USA. Very few were non-white
  • 1950s-70s: Non-white immigrants from the Caribbean, Africa & South Asia

Emigration

  • Most emigrants go to the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand & South Africa

Push factors: unemployment, war, religious / ethnic resecution, poverty

Pull factors: better economic opportunities, political stability, welfare, higher wages

Cohen: Class differences among migrants

  • Citizens: full rights
  • Denizens: Privileged foreign nationals e.g. billionaire oligarchs & investors
  • Helots: Disposible labour power found in unskilled poorly-paid work

Immigration policies

  • Assimilation: encourages immigrants to integrate
  • Multiculturalism: embraces cultural differences (shallow & deep diversity)
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