ABSTRACT
Current trends in fertility and mortality partly reflect developments in the past as a function of longer-term trends. But the changing social and economic conditions in Britain also influence the context of population dynamics. Fertility is not an independent variable, unaffected by events, but is determined by the conditions of people’s lives. For example, the increasing participation of women in the labour market has had a direct bearing on patterns of family formation and trends in fertility in recent years. Similarly, quality of life and life-style are determined by both social and economic factors. Patterns of mortality have a clear social dimension. Occupation, wealth and geographical location are all factors which deter mine the incidence of ill-health and life-expectancy. The population dynamics of Britain in the 1990s both reflect these underlying factors and in turn help to shape current social trends.
