demography - family

demography

the study of a population

causes of birth rate change

• feminism

• individualisation

• falling infant mortality

birth rate change

birth rate has decreased

impact of feminism

feminist movement - particular in 60’s and 70’s

new role of women in society (pursuing successful careers and financial independence)

reinforced by the equal pay act and sex discrimination act

women are not having children until later on in life but may be biologically incapable, some are not choosing to have children at all - rejecting the stereotypical housewife role

Sharpe

1970’s - girls were focused on love, marriage and husbands

1990’s - focussed on careers and financial independence

individualisation

Giddens - controlling structures have weakened or died

causing a rise in individualisation

people prioritise what is best for them

people are choosing not to have children or less children

falling infant mortality

in 1901 - 15% of children died before the age of 1

they would have more children to act as “back ups” in case one died

significant medical advances has caused mortality rates to drop

causes of death rate change

• increased living standards

• health education

• globalisation

death rate change

death rate has decreased

increased living standards

McKeown - huge improvements to living standards

clean water and public sewer system eradicated many infectious diseases

increased wages - people can afford better housing and nutritious food

health education

far more aware of being healthy

smoking and illegal drugs used to be considered healthy and now we have a greater understanding of what makes a healthy diet

healthy education in schools

sugar tax reinforces this message

globalisation

increased transport technology

people are living healthier lifestyles

nutritious food can be transported

technology to safely preserve food for much longer

how has births and deaths rates impacted the family and society ?

• equal gender roles

• beanpole families

• ageing population

equal gender roles

hakim - reduced number of children being born (voluntary childlessness)

given women more freedom to focus on careers and achieving financial independence

women who earn more have more power (pahl and Vogler/ Edgell)

beanpole family

Brannen - resulted in a new family type (beanpole families)

few members for each generation - many generations alive at the same time

family tree is thin/tall like a beanpole

type of modified extended family

ageing population

Hirsh - traditional age pyramid where the young make up the most of the population is being replaced

with the age square where roughly the same amount of people in each age category

average age of the population is getting older

advantages of an ageing population

• increased role of grandparents

• positive ageing and the grey pound

• community cohesion

increased role of grandparents

people are more likely to be grandparents and great grandparents

Ross et al - free childcare, part of primary socialisation, improving quality of life for the family

positive ageing and the grey pound

Blaikie - view on the elderly is changing

third age of active, leisure based retirement - old people are spending money enjoying their freedom

positive ageing

the grey pound is a significant boost to the economy

community cohesion

elderly more likely to volunteer

less likely to commit crime

disadvantages of an ageing population

• dependency ratio

• healthcare and strain on NHS

• housing shortages

• policy implications

dependency ratio

people who are paying taxes vs people who don’t pay taxes

largest group of dependents are the elderly (don’t pay taxes)

state puts more and more money towards ageing population (pension timebomb)

healthcare and strain on NHS

oldest 20% of the population account for 50% of hospital patients and 60% of prescription drugs.

sandwich generation - women are looking after elderly relatives and children (relating to dual burden and triple shift)

housing shortages

old people staying in larger family homes for longer

house prices rise, young people struggle to afford to by first house

policy implications

pension timebomb grows - dealt with :

increasing taxes

prolonging retirement age