SOCI 1002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: General Social Survey, Zenaida Doves, Thomas Robert Malthus
12 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Sociology of the Environment and Demography
Lecture 2
Definition of Demography
Demography: “the study of the causes and consequences of population growth”
(Teelucksingh 2014, p. 321).
Birth rate: “an indication of the reproductive patterns of women of childbearing age”
(Teelucksingh 2014, p, 321)
Crude birth rate: “the number of live births in a given year for every 1000 people in a
population” (ibid).
Death rate: “number of deaths in a given year per 1000 people” (ibid, p. 322)
Infant mortality rate: “number of deaths of children less than one year of age per 1000
live births in the same year” (ibid)
Life expectancy: median number of years one can expect to live in a given society (In
Canada, men= 78.5, women= 83.1 years)
Growth rate: difference between births and deaths plus immigration and emigration
Theorizing world population
Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)
“An Essay on the Principle of Population” 1798
Three main themes:
People like sex: strong moral, or other restrictions are the only things to curb
desire for sex
People are very fertile: early and frequent mating will lead to great population
growth
Resources like food production can’t keep up
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Saw the distribution of wealth and resources the source of social ills rather than
population growth.
Demographic transition theory
Three phases: 1) high birth rates and high death rates= low pop growth, situation of
underdeveloped societies
2) high birth rates, lowered death rates= high pop growth (transitional phase)
3) lowered birth rates, lowered death rates= low natural increase
two demographic studies
• childlessness and socio-economic characteristics: what does the Canadian 2006 general
social survey tell us? Zenaida Ravanera and Roderic Beaujot (2012)
• Childlessness for women during the Great Depression was about 22%, went down to less
than 15% during baby boom (1946-1966), but has continued to increase since, women
born in 1960s approaching 20%
• Structural constraints: education and personal income affect childlessness in 3 ways:
o Postponement- due to pursuit of education and economic stability
o Affordability- getting resources to raise children
o Values--- the relationship between education, occupational choices and whether
or not child-raising is preferable to certain lifestyles.
Document Summary
Demography: the study of the causes and consequences of population growth (teelucksingh 2014, p. 321). Birth rate: an indication of the reproductive patterns of women of childbearing age (teelucksingh 2014, p, 321) Crude birth rate: the number of live births in a given year for every 1000 people in a population (ibid). Death rate: number of deaths in a given year per 1000 people (ibid, p. 322) Infant mortality rate: number of deaths of children less than one year of age per 1000 live births in the same year (ibid) Life expectancy: median number of years one can expect to live in a given society (in. Growth rate: difference between births and deaths plus immigration and emigration. An essay on the principle of population 1798. People like sex: strong moral, or other restrictions are the only things to curb desire for sex. People are very fertile: early and frequent mating will lead to great population growth.
