Case study 5: One child policy in China

Question 1

What was the main historical cause of the One child policy?

Answer 1

Pro-natalist policies of Mao Tse-Tung’s communist government lead to a population of 800 million in 1970.

Question 2

When was the One child policy introduced?

Answer 2

1979, by Deng Xiaoping.

Question 3

How was the one child policy enforced?

Answer 3

• Han Chinese (main race) only allowed to have 1 child per couple.
• Availability of contraception.
• Men over 22 and women over 20 to be allowed to have a child.
• Couples with one child would get ‘certificate of honor’, which gave them rewards while couples with more than 1 child were fined.

Question 4

To what problems did the One child policy lead to?

Answer 4

Female infanticide; shortage of women; 40 million unmarried men.
Only children receive pressure as they will often support their two parents and his wife’s parents.
Affluent families emigrate.

Question 5

How has the One child policy evolved?

Answer 5

2013: Couples where one of them was single child could have 2 children.
2015: 2 children policy.

Question 6

PSD for One child policy in China

Answer 6

Linchuan village in the Jiangxi province, gender imbalance: 150 boys for every 100 girls.