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Running Head: CHINA’S ONE CHILD POLICY 1

CHINA’S ONE CHILD POLICY 7

Prince Mohamad Bin Fahd University

Summer 2020

Writing and Research 103

Assignment #4. Final Paper

By

Saud Alqahtani : ID 201901709

After World War II, the Chinese governments advised their citizens to have as many children as possible. They believed the children would bring more money in the country for economic development, produce more food, and be in a position to build a strong army. The population increased, abruptly attracting the government's attention, and measures for population control were put in place (Hvistendahl, 2017). In 1970, China's population was around 818.3 million and fifty years later, and the population rose to 1.440 billion. The increase was so fast that China's government decided to implement some measures that would help control population growth. In 1979, the one-child policy was instituted. It was done through birth control measures and by the government offering economic incentives to families with fewer children. The purpose of this research project is to analyze the impacts of China's one-child policy.

Description of the topic

The 1979 policy had impacts on people's lives and their general activities. The fertility rates of people started to decrease after 1980. Birth control measures such as contraceptives and pills reduced the fertility rate as the citizens were afraid of violating the policy (Goodkind, 2019). The decrease in fertility rate translated to a reduction in birth rates hence slow population growth. There started to be a massive difference in birth and death rates.

Males were generally preferred more than females for some reason, including females would be tempted to give birth hence increasing the population, and males would be more productive in economic development and help in building a strong army (Zhang, 2017). Citizens had to overcome strict and harsh enforcement procedures of the policy like abortions and forced sterilization. There resulted in an ageing crisis as the workforce reduced, impacting the economy.

Research questions

Who was affected by the policy? What was the effect of the plan on the economy? What are the merits and demerits of the system?

Literature review

The policy attracted the attention of the Chinese citizens with contradicting views where some opposed while others supported the system. All the citizens were directly affected since they had to cope with the new norm (Yang, 2018). Family affairs were disrupted, which resulted in economic changes. The economy was positively and negatively affected as the government’s expenditures were reduced while the family expenses decreased as the population decreased (Mehra, 2018). It implied that they had a lot of capital for investments, but the human resources to handle the tasks reduced. The policy had various advantages and disadvantages simultaneously; the plan helped to transform the role of women in the society where they were involved in other economic matters. The government also offered financial incentives to families with one child, boosting industrial production, and other traditional benefits of having one child (Fong, 2018). More job opportunities were available, as the population was low (Fong, 2018). There were also disadvantages attributed to the one-child policy, where the use of contraceptives was mandatory and to extreme points of sterilization (Liu, 2017). The system resulted in gender disparity as there are more males than females in china; this leads to social issues like marriage since males are more than females; hence some men don't marry since they lack spouses. After the parents' deaths, children were left with no support since their family web is shallow (Liu, 2017). The policy resulted in burdening the child when his or her parents aged since only one child in the family hence the burden of taking care of the aged parents. To conclude, the policy violated human rights according to the United Nations.

Impacts of the One-Child Policy

The negative impact that the one-child policy has on the economy. The advantages and disadvantages of the one-child policy. The policy has had a significant effect on the economic future as well as the demographic. As a result of the policy, the country has more men than women (Hvistendahl, 2017, p. 12). With the preference for male children, China saw an increase in female fetus abortions, an increase in infanticide of baby girls, and an increase in the number of girls left in the orphanage. It also has a significant impact on marriage. Finally, this policy has led to the proliferation of undocumented, non-first born children. 

The policy has had an impact on people's lives and their general activities. In 1980, the fertility rate began to decrease due to birth control pills as well as contraceptives. It reduced the fertility rate, and people were afraid of violating the policy. It has decreased the population significantly. There is a massive difference between death and birth rates. Men are more preferred to females because women will give birth and increase their population (Hvistendahl, 2017, p.20). 

Men are preferred because they are more productive, improve the economy and build a strong army. Women have to overcome harsh and strict procedures of the policy, such as abortion. This polity attracted contradicting views (Kim et al., 2018, p.29). Some of the people supported the system while other people objected to the system. However, everyone had to adapt to the new norm. Besides, this policy also interfered with the family affair and changed the economy. The economy was both positively as well as negatively affected by the policy. One of the advantages of this policy is that it decreased the family expenses. It means that people had a lot of capital for investment. Lastly, the plan helped transform the role of women in society (Zhang, 2017, p. 20). 

Various authors have done wide research on China's one-child policy, as discussed below:

Carlson, Fredrik, et al. "Long-run effects of family policies: An experimental study of the Chinese one-child policy." (2018). 88-90

This journal provides detailed evidence on the experimental effects of the Chinese one-child policy on people's lives more so the Chinese citizens and their behaviours and characteristics are outlined. The journal explains the evidence collected from three central provinces in China. Testimonies were obtained from the people born before introducing the policy and those born after the plan. The effects on the families are seen in instances where they were not barred from having children but reducing the number of children to one. Family planning among usage of other contraceptives is seen getting in the families. The impacts are seen in the families where they are not working as hard as they used to do before the introduction of OCP since it has the notion that they are feeding fewer people in the family than before the opening of the OCP. Having one child before 1979 was a family choice, but now it is a mandatory practise punishable by the government.

In conclusion, China's one-child policy has its advantages and disadvantages at the same time. The effects have been felt in almost every sector of the economy. It may be explained that the government has reduced its expenditures in taking care of the population's wants and diverted the resources to other projects that may be income-generating hence, promoting economic development. It may be an advantageous part of the government as they may have an opportunity for infrastructural development, which will boost economic development.

The government and the economy may also suffer from depletion of expertise. As the population grows at a slower rate, those already in the industrial sector may lack their replacements near their retirement age. It may prove to be a challenge as some industrial sector may face a shortage of experienced workers. After several years, the industries may be forced to shut down or get into the expensive cost of production as a result of hiring experts from other countries since their population may not be sufficient in numbers to satisfy all the industries.

On the other hand, it may be a disadvantageous part of the general public. Many families may have only one child, and during their old age, the parents may not have anyone to take care of them. Some resources may be left idle after the parents have passed on. Since they will have no one to inherit those properties, the government may take advantage and respond to the resources amassing wealth at the expense of the citizens. Therefore, the policy may be considered to be positive to the government and negative to the general public.

References

Carlsson, F., Lampi, E., Martinsson, P., Tu, Q., & Yang, X. (2018). Long-run effects of family policies: An experimental study of the Chinese one-child system.

Donaldson, J. B., Koulovatianos, C., Li, J., & Mehra, R. (2018). Demographics and FDI: Lessons from China one-child policy (No. w24256). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Goodkind, D. (2019). Formal comment on “assessing the impact of the ‘one-child policy' in China: a synthetic control approach”. PloS one, 14(11), e0222705.

Hvistendahl, M. (2017). Analysis of China's one-child policy sparks uproar.

Kim, S. W., Brown, K. E., & Fong, V. L. (2018). How flexible gender identities give young women advantages in China’s new economy. Gender and Education, 30(8), 982-1000.

Liu, Y. (2017). Are women rising as half of the sky? An empirical study on women from the one-child generation and their higher education participation in contemporary China.