Hi! In one of our CID lessons, we discussed birth rates, more specifically, the one child policy and how it affected and continues to affect China. And not only is birth rates related to the economy, population is an important aspect in the consideration of nation building and planning. Policies have been put in place to control birth rates, but the effects on the economy may deviate from the plan's original purpose and the outcomes are complex. In this lesson, a comparative study was pulled out to see the effects of China's one-child policy affects and Singapore's own two-child policy.
In the 1970s, China's population grew enormously, which lea to a multitude of problems in regards to general health, economical and environental problems, as well as increasing demands for water and other resources. China's one-child policy was introduced in 1979 in efforts to curb the rapidly rising population as well as the problems it brought along. The scheme worked, and population decreased. Previously stated problems decreased, woemn could now lead a better life now that they were the only child, healthcare improved.
From statistics, things looked rosy, but 30 years down the road, problems have already began to arise. China is now facing an ageing population.
And that brings us to the new problem: Ageing population. It occurs when the aged is taking up a larger portion of the society. And while China is not the country with the worst problem in an ageing population (Japan is!), it is above the world average (W.A. : 11.7% China: 13.9%). An ageing populatin may cause many problems. For example: An ageing population puts a lot of pressure on the working class. Because the elderly are old, they are more prone to injuries, and therefore need healthcare. The working class then needs to pay taxes, but with a larger population of the aged to support, higher taxes are enforced, and this puts greater financial pressure on the working class. This could be the consequence of the one-child policy. There are families in China with up to 4 generations of members, yet with only a single 4th generation child. What about economically? With increased aged groups to support, working class may not be able to sucessfully support! GDP many go down as a result, and that would be bad for the country!
Potential social problems can be another negative consequence of the one-child policy. With only a single child, parents would be more likely to pamper their child and give him/her their best. They are given the best, with no need to share and are treated like the treasures of the whole family (掌上明珠) However, when they step into the society, where things are no longer always for and given to them, these 'little-emperors' would find it hard to get used to the fact that the world do not revolve around them. These singletons will end up not being team-players, selfish et cetera.
Another problem would be the stress on the single child. Remember cultural forces? Confucianism calls for children to express fillial piety to their parents, so parents give their children their all, hoping that one day their will suceed in life and give them a good life in return. Therefore, families pin all their hopes and dreams on their children, especially in their studies, where most Chinese believed that you needed to succeed in for you to be accomplished in life. With tuition, assessment papers, assessment books, school 6 or 7 days a week until late in the evening (自习) for older students, education puts a lot of pressure on their everyday lives. And what if they are unable to cope? Suicide in the leading killer amongst children aged 15-34, and numbers have been increasing. Expectations from family coupled with the 'cutthroat school system', as put by the Wall Street Journal, may cause students to take their own life as an escape from reality if they are not given enough support. And that was just students. What about working/jobless adults who are unable to support their parents? Who will these elderly people, who have placed their all into their own child, turn to?
Back home, Singapore has once implemented a similar policy in 1972: The two-child policy, where the government only allowed 2 child per family. It might seem surreal now, what with our ageing population, but back then, it was probably required. With 7-8 children per family, the GDP per capita was also affected as a result, however, with the policy, there can be a controllable population size so that the economy can catch up to the population growth.
Although both bans have been lifted as of today (SG: lifted CHN: 2-child policy) population growth has been unable to bounce back to the 7-8 child per family growth.
The government comes up with policies for the betterment of society, but sometimes, these policies have short-term gains but long-term consequences, just like the one-child policy. The purpose of the one-child policy was to improve the Chinese eonomy. Now, because of the one-child policy, the economical situation is declining.
Ironic, isn't it?
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| UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Data |
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