Deck 8: The Age Transition and the Life Course

Question 1

A key characteristic of the age transition is that it represents

A) a shift from a very young population to an older population.
B) a demographic dividend.
C) the end stage of the overall demographic transition.
D) a shift from a female majority to a male majority population.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

If you see an age pyramid that caves in at the younger ages, the most likely explanation is

A) declining fertility.
B) increasing mortality.
C) declining mortality.
D) out-migration.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

If we are comparing the rate of pregnancy-related deaths among young adult women now with rates from 50 years ago, we are most likely trying to understand the

A) age effect.
B) period effect.
C) cohort effect.
D) combined APC effect.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The demographic process most responsible for the demographic dividend is a rapid

A) drop in infant mortality.
B) rise in life expectancy.
C) drop in fertility.
D) rate of immigration.

Question 5

The early impact of mortality decline on the age structure is to

A) make it younger.
B) make it older.
C) produce a youth bulge.
D) produce a middle-age bulge.

Question 6

A young age structure tends to have ____, whereas an older age structure tends to have ______.

A) more females than males; more males than females
B) more males than females; more females than males
C) more females than males; more females than males
D) None of these are correct.

Question 7

The difference between the "third age" and the "fourth age" is largely a function of the

A) imagination of society.
B) susceptibility to senescence.
C) transition from work to retirement.
D) movement of people into assisted living facilities.

Question 8

Of the following countries, ______ has the youngest age structure.

A) Japan
B) Mexico
C) Nigeria
D) the United States

Question 9

The most detailed approach to projecting a population is the _______ method.

A) cohort component
B) components of growth
C) extrapolation
D) demographic analysis

Question 10

The idea that different behavior is expected of people according to their age is an example of

A) age discrimination.
B) cohort influences on the age structure.
C) Marxian thought.
D) age stratification.

Question 11

The long-term impact of a fertility decline on the age structure is to

A) make it younger.
B) make it older.
C) produce a youth bulge.
D) produce a middle-age bulge

Question 12

A very important policy implication of the age transition is that societies have to

A) figure out what to do with the aging population.
B) lower the age at retirement.
C) encourage immigration of younger people.
D) encourage emigration of older people.

Question 13

Population momentum is most influenced by the proportion of the population that is

A) migrants under the age of 15.
B) males aged 65 or older.
C) women of reproductive age.
D) of working age.

Question 14

Despite the decline in fertility in India, that country has not experienced the same demographic dividend as China because

A) its fertility decline has been much slower over time.
B) infant mortality has been much higher in India than in China.
C) the status of women is lower in India than in China.
D) the high rate of Chinese out-migration dampens the demographic dividend.

Question 15

Despite the decline in fertility in Mexico, that country has not experienced the same demographic dividend as China because

A) its fertility decline has been much slower over time.
B) infant mortality has been much higher in Mexico than in China.
C) the status of women is lower in Mexico than in China.
D) the high rate of Mexican out-migration dampens the demographic dividend.

Question 16

The single most important influence on the percent of the population that is older is the

A) fertility rate.
B) mortality rate.
C) migration rate.
D) None of these are correct.

Question 17

The common designation of age 65 as the beginning of old age is based largely on

A) the average age of retirement in the United States.
B) the individual aging process that lowers productivity after age 65.
C) historical custom.
D) the proportion of people alive past that age.

Question 18

The short-term impact of an increase in migration on the age structure is to

A) make it younger.
B) make it older.
C) produce a young-adult bulge.
D) produce a middle-age bulge.

Question 19

Cohort flow captures the idea that

A) historical events similarly affect people of the same age.
B) people born at the same time tend to die at the same time.
C) cohort effects are more important than either period or age effects.
D) the composition of a population is determined by its pattern of birth cohorts.

Question 20

The demographic dividend is associated with an age structure characterized by

A) a bulge in the working-age population.
B) a youth bulge.
C) age rectangularization.
D) an hourglass economy age pattern.

Question 21

In most human societies, more females are born than males.

Question 22

It seems backward that fertility levels affect the age structure more than mortality levels do, especially given the importance of declining mortality to all of the transitions. Discuss this seeming paradox, and show why it makes sense after all.

Question 23

Mexico is currently in the midst of its own "age dividend" or "demographic windfall."

Question 24

The U.S. baby boom generation has sometimes been called "a pig in a python." Describe how that metaphor might help us to understand the age transitions associated with cohort flows.

Question 25

Discuss how the changing age structure of the United States, as shown in Figure 8.9, has altered American society. What changes do you foresee if the age structure changes in the way suggested by the projection to 2040 in that graph? What might cause the actual age structure in 2040 to be different than projected?

Question 26

Almost every aspect of human society varies by age and/or sex.

Question 27

The demographic dividend has been heralded as one of the more positive aspects of the age transition. Discuss exactly what that means, and what a society has to do in order to cash in on this dividend.

Question 28

The impact of fertility decline is more to decrease the size of the population than to change the age structure.

Question 29

The dependency ratio measures the ratio of the population of working age to the population of dependent age.

Question 30

The majority of older people live in the more developed countries.

Question 31

Discuss the way in which the health and mortality transition has helped to differentiate the older population into the third and fourth ages. What changes do you foresee in the older population by the time you get there, compared to the current situation?

Question 32

The impact of mortality decline is more to increase the size of the population than to change the age structure.

Question 33

A population projection and a population forecast refer to the same concept.

Question 34

In most human societies there are more women at the older ages than there are men.

Question 35

Population projections suggest that the United States will have an economically more favorable age structure in 2035-2040 than will China.