GCE Sociology Revision (AQA)- Unit 1 Demography (4)

Unit 1: Families and Households4) Demography

Population growth• Demography: is the study of population,

including factors affecting its size and growth• Whether a population is growing, declining or

stable is affected by four factors: Births and Immigration increases the

population Deaths and Emigration decreases the

population

cont. Population growth

• Natural change: is the number of births minus the number of deaths

• Net migration: is the number immigrating into country minus the number emigrating from it

• The UK’s population grew from 37m. in 1901 to 61m. today and should reach 71m. by 2031

• Growth has been mostly due to natural change rather than net migration

Interpretation

• Address all parts of the question • E.g. If it’s about causes and effects of a

population change, make sure you deal with both

BirthsThere are two measures of births 1. birth rate2. total fertility rate

1. The birth rate • The birth rate: is the number of live births per 1,000 of

the population per year• There has been a long-term decline in the birth rate • In 1900, it was almost 29• By 2007, it had fallen by more than 60%, to under 11• But there have been fluctuations• There were 3 ‘baby booms’: after the two world wars,

and in the 1960’s• The rate fell sharply in the 1970’s, rose during the

1980’s and early 1990’s, and then fell until the recent increase since 2001

2. The total fertility rate• The total fertility rate: is the average number of children

a woman will have during her fertile years (aged 15-44)• In the 1960’s baby boom, it reached an average of 2.95

children per woman, declining to an all-time low of 1.63 in 2001, before rising slightly to 1.84 in 2006

• The total fertility rate obviously affects family and household size – the more children a woman has, the bigger the family:

1. More women are remaining childless nowadays2. Women are having children later: the average age is

now almost 30

Analysis

• Family size doesn’t just depend on the number of children

• E.g. Divorce divides a family into two smaller ones and reduces the chances of the woman having more children

Reasons for the fall in birth rateMany social, economic, legal and technological factors are responsible for the falling birth rate and total fertility rate:1. Changes in the position of women2. Fall in the infant mortality rate3. Children as an economic liability4. Child-centredness

1. Changes in the position of women

• Increased educational opportunities• More women working• Changes in attitudes to family life and

women’s role• Easier access to divorce • Access to abortion and contraception

Analysis

• Explain how such factors affect the birth rate • E.g. ‘Better-educated women have more

options: they can choose a career rather than marriage and family’

2. Fall in the infant mortality rate

• The infant mortality rate (IMR): is the number of infants who die before their first birthday, per 1,000 babies born alive, per year

• The IMR has fallen greatly in the last century• In 1900, it was 154; by 2007, it was 5• A fall in the IMR may cause a fall in the birth

rate: if infants survive, parents will have fewer of them

Reason for the fall in IMR• Reasons include improvement in:- Housing- Sanitation- Nutrition

Mothers:- Knowledge of hygiene and child health- Health services for mothers and children

• Medical factors did NOT play much until the 1950’s, when the IMR began to fall due to mass immunisation, antibiotics, and improved midwifery and obstetrics

3. Children as an economic liability

• Until the late 19th century, children were an economic asset because they went to work from an early age

• Now they are an economic liability: Laws banning child labour: and introducing

compulsory schooling mean they remain economically dependent for longer

Changing norms: about children’s right to a high standard of living raises their cost

As a result, parents may be unable to afford to have a large family

4. Child-centredness

• Childhood is now socially constructed as a uniquely important period and this has led to a shift from ‘quantity’ to ‘quality’: parents now have fewer children and lavish more attention and resources on these few

Application

• Use your knowledge of the social construction of childhood (Topic 2) to show how the factors that created modern childhood also lead to smaller families

Effects of a falling birth rate• Lower birth rates and fertility rates have

several effects on the family and society• E.g. Having fewer children means women

are freer to go out to work, creating the dual earner couple

cont. Effects of a falling birth rate

1. The dependency ratio: is the relationship between the size of the working population and the size of the non-working (dependent) population

the working population’s earning and taxes support the dependent population

children are a large part of the dependent population, so fewer children reduces the ‘burden of dependency’ on the working population

cont. Effects of a falling birth rate

• Public services: Fewer schools and child health services may be needed, and less needs to be spent on maternity and paternity leave

• However, these are political decision – e.g. government can choose either to reduce the number of schools or to have smaller class sizes instead

Deaths The number of deaths has been fairly stable since 1900 (about 600,000 per year), but there have been fluctuations, e.g. The two world wars and the 1918 flu epidemic

The death rate is the number of deaths per thousand of the population per year It has almost halved from 19 in 1900, down to 10 by 2007

Interpretation

• Be clear about the differences between rates and numbers or totals

• Rates are always ‘out of’ something (usually 1,000)

• The death rate fell despite the number staying constant because population grew

The death rate

• The death rate began falling from about 1870, continuing until 1930

• It rose slightly during the 1930’s and 1940’s due to economic depression and World War 2

• Since the 1950’s it has declined slightly

Reasons for the fall in death rate• Up to 1970, about ¾ of the decline was due to a

fall in deaths from infectious diseases such as TB, measles, smallpox, diarrhoea and typhoid

• This decline was largely brought about by changing social factors including:

1. Improved nutrition2. Medical improvements3. Public health improvements4. Other social changes

Analysis

• It’s important to explain how each of these factors helped reduce the death rate

1. Improved nutrition (McKeowan (1972)

• According to McKeowan (1972): better diet accounted for at least ½ the reduction in the death rate, by increasing people’s resistance to infection

2. Medical improvements

• Before the 1950’s, medical improvements played almost NO part in reducing death rates from infection

• From the 1950’s, the death rate fell due partly to medical factors i.e.

- Vaccination,- Antibiotics, - Blood transfusion- Better maternity services- The creation of the NHS (1949)

3. Public health improvements

• More effective government with the power to pass and enforce laws led to improved public health

• E.g. Better housing- Purer drinking water- Cleaner air- Laws against the adulteration of food- Improved sewage disposal

4. Other social changes

• Other social changes that reduced the death rate include: the decline of more dangerous manual occupations

• E.g. Mining- smaller families reduced the transmission of

infection- Greater public knowledge of the cause of

illness and higher incomes

Evaluation

• Evaluate the reason for the falling death rate by noting that although the medical profession often claim the credit, social and economic factors had much more impact overall

Life expectancy• Life expectancy: refers to how long on average a

person born in a given year can expect to live • Life expectancy has greatly increased since

1900: For babies born in 1900 it was 50 years for M, 57 for FFor babies born in 2005 it was 77 for M, 81 for F

cont. Life expectancy

• Falling infant mortality: low life expectancy in 1900 was largely due to the IMR pulling down the average life expectancy of the population as a whole

• As the IMR fell life expectancy rose

Application

• Apply your knowledge of reasons for the fall in the IMR to explain how this led to an increase in life expectancy

The ageing population The UK population is ageing. In 1971, the average age was 34 years; it is now nearly 40. By 2031, it will reach 42.6. The number of over-65’s will over-take the number of under-16’s for the first time ever in 2014

There are 3 main reasons for this ageing...

3 main reasons for this ageing

• Increasing life expectancy people are living longer

• Low infant mortality babies no longer die in large numbers

• Declining fertility fewer young people are being born

Effects of an ageing population

• An ageing population has several social and economic effects:

1. Public service2. More one-person pensioner households3. The rising dependency ratio4. Ageism

1. Public services

• Older people consume more health and social care services

2. More one-person pensioner households

• These now account for (1/7) one in every seven households

3. The rising dependency ratio

• The non-working old need to provided for by those of working age

• E.g. Through taxation to pay for pensions and health care

• As the number of retired people rises, the dependency ratio increases

4. Ageism

• Age statuses are socially constructed• Old age is often constructed as a problem• Negative stereotyping often portrays the old

as incompetent and a burden

(contrast this with traditional societies, where age brings higher status, not lower)

Analysis

• Explain how old age is constructed as dependency because of a compulsory retirement age

• Compare it with childhood: both old and young are excluded from the labour market

Hirsch (2005): Policy implications

• Hirsch (2005) argues that we will need new policies to finance a longer old age

• This could be done either by paying more in taxes or by raising the retirement age, or both

• E.g. The increase in women’s pensionable age from 60 to 65

Migration Migration is the movement of people. It can be internal (within a country) or international. Migration affects the size and age structure of the population. Until the 1980’s, more people left the UK than entered it.

Immigration

• From 1900 to the 1940’s, the largest immigrant groups in the UK were the Irish, Europeans Jewish and people of British descent from Canada and the USA

• Very few immigrants were non-white

cont. Immigration

• White and non-white immigrants:• During the 1950’s -70’s, non-white

immigrants began to come from the Caribbean, Africa, and South Asia

• By 2001, minority ethnic groups accounted for 7.9% of the population

• However, most immigrants to the UK were white Irish and Europeans

cont. Immigration

• Despite this, immigration and nationality acts from 1962 to 1990 placed severe restrictions on non-white immigration

• By the 1980’s, non-white accounted for barely a quarter (1/4) of immigrants

• The mainly white countries of the European Union (EU) became the chief source of immigrants

Application

• If the question asks about the consequences of migration, discuss the impact of immigration on family diversity

• E.g. Asian extended families and black lone parent families

Emigration• Since 1900, most emigrants have gone to the

USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa

• The main reasons for emigrating have been economic:

‘Push’ factors, e.g. Unemployment and economic recession

‘Pull’ factors, e.g. Higher wages or better opportunities

Evaluation

• Assess the importance of economic factors by referring to the role of non-economic reasons for migrating

• E.g. To flee political or ethnic persecution