Population Case Study - China's one child policy

Question 1

When was the policy introduced?

Answer 1

1979

Question 2

What did the one child policy say each couple should do?

Answer 2

• not marry until their late 20s
• must have only 1 successful pregnancy
• must be sterilised after their first child or abort future pregnancies
• would receive 5-10% salary rise if only had 1 child
• would have priority housing, pension and family benefits and free education for the single child.

Question 3

What happened to couples disobeying the rules of the one child policy?

Answer 3

• 10% salary cut
• a fine imposed that would bankrupt many households
• the family would have to pay for the education and health care of both children and the family
• second children born abroad are not penalised, but they are not allowed to become Chinese citizens

Question 4

What incentives did the Chinese government offer one-child families?

Answer 4

Free healthcare, education and money for the child.

Question 5

How has the policy affected China’s population?

Answer 5

Birth rate has fallen since 1979.
Rate of population growth is now 0.7%.
Population is still large (1.3 billion in 2008), just growing slowly.
Population is mostly male.

Question 6

Why was the policy introduced?

Answer 6

Recent famine made the government want to avoid more Malthusian disasters in the future.
China’s population was nearly 1 billion (> Europe, the Americas and Japan combined).

Question 7

What exceptions were there to the policy?

Answer 7

Couples in the countryside were allowed 2 children to help with farming.

Question 8

Why does China have a gender imbalance in their population?

Answer 8

Most families wanted a boy to keep the family name or work in farming.
Girls would often be aborted or put up for adoption.
(In 2000, 90% of foetuses aborted were female).
Now, men outnumber women by more than 60 million.