Population - [CASE STUDY] Birth control policy

Question 1

What is the example used?

Answer 1

China.

Question 2

What is the population of China?

Answer 2

China has the world’s largest population at 1.357 billion people in 2013.

Question 3

How is China dealing with their high population?

Answer 3

China is the only country to impose rules about family size as a way of controlling population growth.

Question 4

What is the name of the policy and when was it introduced?

Answer 4

In 1979, the government introduced the “one child” policy, which stipulates that couples may only have one child.

Question 5

What were the benefits for couples following the policy?

Answer 5

• Encouraged by preferential access to housing, schools, and health services.

Question 6

What were the negatives for couples not following the policy?

Answer 6

• They would be punished with fines on each additional child.
• Forced sterilisation sometimes.
• Pressure to abort pregnancy and discrimination at work.

Question 7

What are the exclusions?

Answer 7

• Couples from ethnic minorities, couples who are both only children, rural couples with a female child to prevent gendercide and couples who have had a disabled child.

Question 8

What evidence is there of gendercide?

Answer 8

There are more men than women in China by more than 60 million.

Question 9

How has the one-child policy been effective?

Answer 9

• Population growth rates have fallen.
• About 250 million fewer births than there would’ve been.
• Helped China’s recent rapid economic growth.
• Problems resulting from overpopulation have been reduced (Housing, healthcare, education and law enforcement).

Question 10

What is the future for China?

Answer 10

• In 2008, a survey showed that over 76% of the Chinese population support the policy.
• The government said the policy would remain in place indefinitely.
• There are still 6 million more births than deaths each year, and the population is likely to still increase until 2030.
• Young men may be unable to find wives as there are many more men than women.

Question 11

What is the 4-2-1 problem?

Answer 11

Where single children have to support two parents and four grandparents when they grow up. This is why if an only child marries, they are allowed to have two children of their own.