An ageing population can bring economic, political and social advantages as well as disadvantages. Discuss this view.
“An ageing population can bring economic, political and social advantages as well as disadvantages.” Discuss this view. An aging population, such as the in U.K can bring economic advantages as well as disadvantages. Firstly, the disadvantages of an aging population is that they rely more on health services with can put pressure on hospitals and GP clinic. This is experienced in the U.K where 48% of people over 70 have a long term illness. Therefore, in the U.K where there is the state NHS, this can cost the tax payer lots of money. Also, another economic disadvantage is that 70% of pensioners depend on the state for at least half their income. Therefore, this means that taxes will have to increase to pay for the pensions for the elderly. Finally, companies such as ‘Quiksilver’ who depend on the youthful market may find it hard to make business where the majority of the population is old. Yet, in contrast they can bring economic benefits. For example there is the ‘grey pound’ where elderly spend on niche markets such as the ‘Stannah Stairlift’, also they can spend their children’s inheritance money into the economy. Finally, they may also help the economy by working in places such as ‘B&Q’ during school and university terms where young workers cannot do so because they are studying. Furthermore, an aging population can bring social benefits. For example,
Comparing China and India Population Control Policies
Anti Natal Policies – China and India China’s One Child Policy a) Why was China’s One Child Policy introduced? The first modern census in China in 1953 showed that the population was at 583 million people. In 50 years time, the population had more than doubled to 1252.8 million people in 1999. The average family had three children, and the population didn’t seem to be slowing. The government was concerned that a rapidly growing population would put pressure on resources, so during the 1970s, tried to encourage family planning and delayed marriage. b) How was the policy implemented? If a couple only have 1 child, they could receive a 5-10% salary bonus, but having 2 would result in a 10% salary reduction. Having only 1 child meant that the family got priority in housing, education and health care. Couples also got higher pensions on retirement for only having one child. However, the penalties for having more than one child were very severe and many have criticized the One Child Policy for its claimed abuses of human rights. There have been many reports of the use of ultrasound foetus sex determination and selective terminations, as boys are still seen to be of more value than girls, especially in rural areas of China. Female infanticide has also been common, as well as child trading and infant abandonment. Many of the family planning providers have been accuses,
Using examples to support your answer, examine the relative importance of the push factors that lead to forced and voluntary migrations
Using examples to support your answer, examine the relative importance of the push factors that lead to forced and voluntary migrations Migration is defined as the movement of people across a specified boundary (national or international) to establish a permanent place of residence. The UN refers to how generally, migration is when there is a change in residence lasting more than a year. Push factors are those which force people away from the area in which they live and these can have varying levels of importance in forced and voluntary migrations. Forced migration is when people are forced to leave their homes and move to another place as it is unsafe for reasons such as religious discrimination or they could be facing persecution. By contrast, voluntary migration is when people move away in order to get a better quality of life such as moving for to an area with better employment prospects. Push factors are especially important when there is forced migration as people have little choice but to migrate and so the importance of pull factors is lower. An example of forced migration which I have studied is the migration of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Tanzania. The principle push factor in this migration is the deadly war that is taking place. It is estimated that 3.3 million people were killed, the largest in a war since World War II and in
Economic development has been key in reducing fertility rates.
Fertility rates became an increasingly important aspect of population planning amongst governments, especially in the less developed worlds. Governments aim to manage their population size within the carrying capacities of their countries. One of the pre-conditions for a fertility decline is economic development. Economic progress and growth has been imperative in bringing down fertility rates to healthier levels near the 2.1 replacement level. However, economic development cannot function alone and would require other social changes such as emancipation of women and population policies to occur in tandem with it to achieve more significant results. Nevertheless, economic development is a key factor in reducing fertility rates. With the establishment of modern economic growth, fertility has tended to decline by reducing the need to have children. The demographic transition model (DTM) suggests that in countries that develop from a pre-industrial to an industrialised economic system, long-term increases in economic wealth and income per capita are combined with a transition from high to low birth and death rates. First across high income countries starting largely in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and then occurring even more rapidly across most low income countries in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The DTM predicts ever-decreasing fertility rates with
Explain the geographical challenges resulting from a greying population.
Explain the Geographical challenges resulting from a greying population. [15] A greying population, also known as an ageing population, is a term used to describe uneven age distribution, towards older ages. Many socio-economic and health consequences arise from a greying population, including the increase in the old-age dependency ratio. In addition, it presents challenges for public health as well as economic development. One of the biggest problems is that the elderly are a strain on the NHS, it has been predicted that the percentage of over 65’s is expected to rise by 53% therefore, there is expected to be over 14 million over 65’s by 2031. This will clearly be catastrophic if there is little change in the younger population, as a result there will be a higher proportion of elderly people who require medical attention and care. The fact that elderly people are also more vulnerable to illness it means they will require hospitalisation however, there are restriction on the amount of hours staff are allowed to work meaning the NHS will be short on staff and this will put a huge amount of pressure on the health care. As a result more money will have to be spent and consequently the only way to fulfil this demand is through increasing the amount taxpayers pay as there is fewer economically independent people so more money will need to be generated through tax in order to
The Demographic Transition Model.
The Demographic Transition Model Q: A summary of the Demographic Transition Model and show its disadvantages and Advantages The demographic transition model shows the relationship between Births,Deaths and population increase or decrease over a period of time in a single diagram.The graph shows different situations in through out the world due to differences in technological and medical advancement. The first stage of the model is typical of least economically developed countries,charecterised by high birth and death rates resulting in minimal population growth.High death rates are due to famine which is widespread in Africa and most Middle East countries.War contributes to the hunger and starvation the population as people are flee the cities and farms to hide in the mountains where food supplies cannot reach them and there is poor hygiene facilities,no clean water and limited medical infrastructure.The diet is minimal and thus an outbreak of malnutrition wipes out infants at young age and the poor living conditions would result in diseases such as cholera and kwashiorkor which take their toll on the population .Deaths are high among children and most would die at birth.Poor contraception methods result in many though fatal births due to sexually transmitted diseases such as Aids, Herpes, Gonorrhea etc Many children die in infancy and people tend to produce more
My Favourite Place
My Favourite Place Would you fancy going to a location where the temperature is fantastic every day, would you like to go to an area where people are kind-hearted and admire you, do you get pleasure from playing on beaches and fancy having a wonderful time, do you like shopping in massive shopping malls and like to stay in enormous 5 star hotels? If so, then you would be keen on coming to India. Golden sand on the beaches, blockages in the drains close to attractive sites, foreign languages being spoken next to my ear, icy blue sparkling water splashing against the massive mountains, lines of traffic everywhere, individuals hooting their horn in the direction of the traffic, stacks of garbage all over the place, police finding it awkward to keep the traffic under control, little children pleading for groceries and loose change, small bungalows made from dirt with no water and electrical energy, enormous streams of filthy water and unclean wild animals roaming the streets looking for food. There are many marvellous locations in India where you can head off to have a magnificent time such as the beaches, theme parks and other amusing sites which are spotless. There are many holy places all over India and a number of the religious sites are on the mountains. One of the major holy place is the Golden Temple in Amritsar which is made of gold along with the border gate between
What the current issues are in the next 25 years and what policies should we encourage.
What the current issues are in the next 25 years and what policies should we encourage The United Kingdom In the next 25 years, looking at the population pyramid, there will be an influx in the United Kingdom's population, but currently, the UK has reached stage 5 in the demographic transition model. The main reason being is because as fewer children are being born, the birth rate is similar to the death rate. For a stable population growth, an average birth rate of at least two children per adult female is required. At the moment it is 1.7. There are many reasons for this. They are firstly, more people choosing to stay single, the further emancipation of women giving females the choice of whether to have children or not: or later in life - influencing them to have only one child, and the change in views about lifestyle ie. Wanting material possessions rather than incurring the costs of raising a family. However, the general increase in the quality of life has resulted in people living longer, which also have an effect on the overall population figures. Free national healthcare has improved, both of which have had a direct influence on increasing the ageing population. A better overall standard of living e.g. Housing, food etc... - has also eliminated many of the problems which caused early death. The UK therefore has an increasing population over the ages of 65 and 69 in
What were the causes and consequences of the demographic change between 1750 and 1900?
What were the causes and consequences of the demographic change between 1750 and 1900? Introduction Between 1750 and 1900 the population and its distribution changed dramatically, with the population rising by almost 700%. In this change, many people moved from rural areas to the towns, in search of jobs, this is one of the main demographic changes. In this essay I will be writing about the causes of this change and what the consequences were. Health, medicines and laws A big part of the demographic change was due to the change in laws and taxes. With the removal of window tax, dwellings which had previously been dark, cold and damp, became brighter and this encouraged people to keep their homes cleaner. The damp, dirty homes of the past provided an ideal environment for the spread of disease. Soap prices became a lot lower, making it easier to afford for the average poverty stricken family. With their new, warm houses people were inclined to wash more regularly, this may have made it socially unacceptable to smell. Previously, many common diseases, such as cholera, were spread when wastewater was allowed to contaminate drinking water. It became obvious that many diseases were spread through drinking contaminated water and something had to be done. This change in water quality was partially due to the fact that human faeces and urine were taken from the water system and
What are the consequences of an ageing population?
What are the consequences of an ageing population? When a country has a high number of elderly people (people aged 65 and over), it is said to have an 'ageing population.' The proportion of elderly people in the world is steadily increasing: by 2025, it is predicted that nearly ( of the world's population will be 65 or over. This is happening most rapidly in the rich countries of the economically developed world. Rich countries have growing numbers of elderly people, because of declines in fertility rates and high standards of living and healthcare, which enable people to live well into their old age. In Europe and America, the post World War II baby boom generation will reach retirement age late next decade. The number of elderly dependents will rise rapidly for many years. Most developed countries and some developing countries have ageing populations. Sweden has the highest proportion of elderly people in the world: In 1750, only 6% of Sweden's population was over 65, yet now, it is over 20%. In the UK, the 2001 census showed that the proportion of people over 60 had increased from 16% in 1951 to 21%. For the first time ever in the UK there are now more over 60 year olds than there are under 16s. The ageing of the population in the UK is especially evident when you look at the number of people over 85. This number has increased, over five fold, from 0.2 million in 1951 to
