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| families were allowed to have two children before fines were imposed, and | families were allowed to have two children before fines were imposed, and | ||
| these fines were often ignored. The fertility rate of China is in fact closer | these fines were often ignored. The fertility rate of China is in fact closer | ||
| to two children per family than one child per family. | to two children per family than one child per family. Furthermore, the steepest | ||
| drop in fertility occurred in the 1970's before one child per family began to | |||
| be encouraged in 1979. | |||
| Since the mid-1990's there has been considerable relaxation in family planning | Since the mid-1990's there has been considerable relaxation in family planning | ||
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| age. | age. | ||
| The one child policy has been cited as the cause of female ] in | |||
| China, however few demographers believe that there is widespread infanticide | |||
| in China. There is a striking preponderance of reported male births in some | |||
| areas of China, however it is believed that this is the result of widespread | |||
| underreporting of female births in addition to the illegal practice of sex-selective abortions which is possible due to the widespread availablity of | |||
| ]. | |||
Revision as of 00:14, 17 March 2002
The one child policy refers to a popular name for birth control policy in the People's Republic of China. This name is based on a popular misconception that Chinese birth control required all Chinese to have one child. Although one child was promoted as an ideal, the actual implementation varied from location to location and in most rural areas families were allowed to have two children before fines were imposed, and these fines were often ignored. The fertility rate of China is in fact closer to two children per family than one child per family. Furthermore, the steepest drop in fertility occurred in the 1970's before one child per family began to be encouraged in 1979.
Since the mid-1990's there has been considerable relaxation in family planning policies in the People's Republic of China largely due to the fact that the "demographic bump" of people born in the 1960's is now moving out of fertility age.
The one child policy has been cited as the cause of female infanticide in China, however few demographers believe that there is widespread infanticide in China. There is a striking preponderance of reported male births in some areas of China, however it is believed that this is the result of widespread underreporting of female births in addition to the illegal practice of sex-selective abortions which is possible due to the widespread availablity of ultrasound.