Change of the demographic politics in China: reasons, results, prospects
How to Cite
Van E. Change of the demographic politics in China: reasons, results, prospects. Population. 2018. Vol. 21. No. 1. P. 84-96. (in Russ.).
Abstract
The article deals with analysis of the changes in the state demographic policy in China after 2016, marked by permission to have two children in any Chinese family. Thirty years of one-child policy have resulted in reduction of the extremely high growth rate and population size, but caused demographic problems connected with rapid demographic aging, gender imbalance, "hidden children", "internal immigration" of rural residents to cities, deterioration of reproductive health. This complicated the socio-economic development, as it aggravated the situation on the labor market, led to reduction of consumption in pre-pension and pension ages, increased social dependency of the elderly having no modern pension security and turned children into "little emperors" that resulted in deformation of horizontal intra-family relations. In Chinese families, particularly urban, formed a "one-child" culture, when people opted to have a single child only if they were sure that both the child and the parents would be provided with a high standard of living; to opt out of such decision, the official lifting of the ban on the repeated birth alone was not enough. Part of families, mainly rural, already had two children despite the ban, and there arose a problem of their "legalization". Efficiency of new measures for demographic regulation could be enhanced by taking into account the specifics of all categories of the population capable of increasing fertility. There is need in State propaganda and material support for two-child families, while in fact the fertility-related policy remains discriminatory, focused only on traditional family couples, and aimed at limiting the population growth in the long-term prospect.
Keywords:
antinatal demographic politics, aging of population, gender imbalance, "hidden children", sterility, reproductive choice, quality of population
References
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Imet' dvoikh detey v Kitaye sovsem ne deshevo [To have two children in China is quite expensive]. South China Insight. 22 February 2015. Available at: http://www.south-insight.com/node/1229 (Accessed: 22 September 2017). (in Russ.)
China Statistical Yearbook 2016. Available at: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2016/ indexeh.htm
Denisov I. Vtoroy ne lishniy. K chemu privedet otmena pravila «odna sem'ya — odin rebenok» v Kitaye [Second is not superfluous. To what will lead abolition of the rule "one family -one child" in China]. Available at: https://lenta.ru/articles/2015/11/06/ morechinesechildren/ (Accessed: 14 December 2016). (in Russ.)
Gu, Baochang, Wang Feng, Zhigang Guo, and Erli Zhang. China’s local and national fertility policies at the end of the Twentieth century. Population and Development Review. 2007. No. 33(1). P. 129–147.
Prodolzhitel'nost' zhizni v Kitaye [Life longevity in China]. Available at: http://dibit.ru/statistics/who/chn/lifespan.html (Accessed: 12 December 2015). (in Russ.)
Zhiteley Shankhaya prizyvayut rozhat' [The habitants of Shanghai are called to bear children]. Available at: http://ru.gbtimes.com/novosti/zhiteley-shanhaya-prizyvayut-rozhat (Accessed: 12 December 2015). (in Russ.)
Reshetova O. Kitay slabeyet ot starosti. Kitayu grozit defitsit rabochey sily k 2030 godu [China weakens due to old age. China will face labor shortages by 2030]. Available at: https://www.gazeta.ru/business/2017/01/30/10499867.shtml (Accessed: 10 December 2017). (in Russ.)
Kupriyanova Ju., Yanishevskaya А. Novaya demograficheskaya politika v Kitaye: «odna sem'ya — dva rebenka» [New demographic policy in China: "one family — two children"]. Demograficheskoye obozreniye [Demographic Review]. 2017. Vol. 4. №2. P. 53-64. (in Russ.)
2016: A good start for China’s economy during the 13th five-year plan period. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Available at: http://www.stats.gov.cn/ english/PressRelease/201701/t20170120_1455922.html. (Accessed: 14 December 2017)
China birth rate up after one-child rule change. Available at: NHFPC/National Bureau of Statistics/UN http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38714949 (Accessed: 18 December 2017)
Goralczyk B. Chińska klasa średnia wkracza na scenę. Available at: https: //www.obserwatorfinansowy.pl/tematyka/makroekonomia/chinska-klasa-srednia-wkracza-na-scene/ (Accessed: 16 September 2017) (in Polish)
Orr G. What can we expect in China in 2017? Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/china/what-can-we-expect-in-china-in-2017 (Accessed: 18 December 2017)
Kitayskaya Narodnaya Respublika: politika, ekonomika, kul'tura. K 65-letiyu KNR [People’s Republic of China: Policy, Economy, Culture]. Moscow. FORUM. 2014. (in Russ.)
Kotov А. Pensionnaya sistema pogubit ekonomiku Kitaya [The pension system will ruin the economy of China]. Available at: http://rbcdaily.ru/world/562949984877187 (Accessed: 24 December 2017). (in Russ.)
Hanrahan M., Baculinao Е. China population crisis: New two-child policy fails to yield major gains. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/28/china-population-crisis-new-two-child-policy-fails-to-yield-major-gains.html (Accessed: 24 December 2017)
Kitaytsam rozhat' razreshili, a oni ne khotyat [The Chinese are allowed to bear children, but they do not wish]. Available at: http://china-today.ru/analytics/life/kitajtsam-rozhat-razreshili/ (Accessed: 14 December 2017). (in Russ.)
Lan Chua. Velikaya epokha. Kitaytsy ne khotyat rozhat' [A great epoch. The Chinese do not want to bear children]. Available at: http://www.epochtimes.ru/kitajtsy-ne-hotyat-rozhat-98966814/ (Accessed: 24 December 2017). (in Russ.)
Qiao J., Feng Huai L. Assisted reproductive technology in China: compliance and non-compliance. Translation Pediatrics. 2014. No. 3(2). P. 91-97
Kaliński А. Chińska metoda planowania rodziny. Available at: https://www.obserwatorfinansowy.pl/tematyka/makroekonomia/chinska-metoda-planowania-rodziny/ (Accessed: 9 March 2017). (in Polish)
Sacharov D. «Odna sem'ya — odin rebenok»: pokoleniye spryatannykh detey ["One family — one child": generation of the hidden children]. Available at: South China Insight. 18 March 2015. (Accessed: 22 September 2016) (in Russ.)
Mukhametshyna Е. Legalizatsiya brat'yev i sester. Kitay snova smyagchayet demograficheskuyu politiku [Legalization of brothers and sisters. China softens demographic politics again]. Available at: https://www.gazeta.ru/social/2013/11/15/5755309.shtml (Accessed: 22 September 2016). (in Russ.)
Imet' dvoikh detey v Kitaye sovsem ne deshevo [To have two children in China is quite expensive]. South China Insight. 22 February 2015. Available at: http://www.south-insight.com/node/1229 (Accessed: 22 September 2017). (in Russ.)
China Statistical Yearbook 2016. Available at: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2016/ indexeh.htm
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
APA
Van, E. (2018). Change of the demographic politics in China: reasons, results, prospects. Population, 21(1), 84-96. Retrieved from https://www.jour.fnisc.ru/index.php/population/article/view/6611
Section
DEMOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT
