Demographic Transition SOC 370: Social Change Dr. Kimberly Martin

What is Demography? Demographics = the study of population characteristics Demographics studies factors like: Size Birth rates Morbidity rates Mortality rates Geographical distribution Marriage patterns Migration patterns

World Population 10,000 BC – 2000 AD

Demography and Development There is a very clear demographic pattern that accompanies economic development from traditional (peripheral) societies to industrialized (core) societies Four stages Pre-Modern = Traditional societies with stable populations Modernizing = Beginning industrial and urbanization societies see a sharp population increase Modern = Industrialized societies have sharp population increases that level off after they have achieved full industrialization Post-Modern = post industrial societies population size is stable

Stage One Profile: Angola

Demographic Pyramids: Four Stages of DTR Each pyramid is a snapshot of what a population looks like at a specific moment in time

The Value of Children As the value of children declines, people generally have fewer children. As the cost of raising a successful child goes up, people generally have fewer children. The better educated women are, the fewer children they generally have.

Factors Affecting Fertility Rates Pronatalist policies and antinatalist policies from government Existing age-sex structure Availability of family planning services Social and religious beliefs - especially in relation to contraception and abortion Female literacy levels Economic prosperity (although in theory when the economy is doing well families can afford to have more children in practice the higher the economic prosperity the lower the birth rate). Poverty levels – children can be seen as an economic resource in developing countries as they can earn money. Infant Mortality Rate – a family may have more children if a country's IMR is high as it is likely some of those children will die. Urbanization Typical age of marriage Pension availability Conflict

Study Guide Demographics Demographic transition Demographic Profile Value of children