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China's One-Child Policy: Some Unintended Consequences

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  • David Howden
  • Yang Zhou

Abstract

This paper gives a brief overview of China's family planning policy which, although recently relaxed, still controls a large swath of the population. Unofficially known as the ‘one-child policy’, it resulted from the social strife of the 1970s coupled with a Malthusian pessimism concerning the capability of the still largely closed and isolated Chinese economy to care for itself. We discuss the motivations for the policy, the unfortunate demographic future that it will create, and some policy reforms that can be undertaken today.

Suggested Citation

  • David Howden & Yang Zhou, 2014. "China's One-Child Policy: Some Unintended Consequences," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 353-369, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecaffa:v:34:y:2014:i:3:p:353-369
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. David Howden & Jason XingBin Li, 2015. "An Austrian Analysis of China's Unsustainable Boom," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 443-452, October.
    2. Bao, Xiaojia & Galiani, Sebastian & Li, Kai & Long, Cheryl Xiaoning, 2023. "Where have all the children gone? An empirical study of child abandonment and abduction in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 95-119.
    3. Brock, Gregory & Jin, Yinghua & Zeng, Tong, 2015. "Fiscal decentralization and China's regional infant mortality," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 175-188.
    4. Zhou, Yang, 2018. "Do ideology movements and legal intervention matter: A synthetic control analysis of the Chongqing Model," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 44-56.
    5. Howden, David & Zhou, Yang, 2015. "Why Did China’s Population Grow So Quickly?," MPRA Paper 79795, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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