Issue: One-child policy

Benefits 

Benefit 1: Population growth reduction

Reduce population growth by 0.4 billion -> more resources, such as education expenses and welfare can be shared by each citizen -> higher GDP per capita -> reduce population under poverty 

Society

Problems 3:  Sexual imbalance

The traditional conception of patriarchy, i.e. a boy is preferred to a girl->  Boy-girl proportion was >120: 100  due to gender selection during pregnancy or infanticide. Potential problems such as males staying single may affect social stability.  

Problem 4: Aging

The elderly ratio will increase from 0.169 billion (12% of the population) in 2008 to 0.44 billion  (>30% of the population) in 2050.  A small working population has to support the financial needs of the non-working (or dependent) population. This means that much of society's resources will have to be directed toward elderly care, resulting in a large social burden. 

Problem 5: Insufficient labour force

A large labour force has provided China with the basis to develop into the world’s factory and developed at a rate >10%. China has enjoyed a golden period of population dividend for 30 years, economic development as a result of a high working-age population compared to a young dependent population. However, this growth depending on the cheap labour force is coming to an end as the % of the working population peaks. China has to transform into a more technology-intensive, capital-intensive, innovative economy.

Reference:

Youtube video: Why China ended its one-child policy

Exam Corner

• (1516 P2Q1b) To what extent would the two-child policy facilitate the long-term development of China?

• Form-based Assessment - 'Lazy before getting rich' from Textbook p.219