Demography

Older Tibetan woman sits in her living room in China.

Demography

Analyzing demographic policies and challenges in China.

Overview

In effect for almost 40 years (1979-2015), China’s “One-Child Policy” comprised the world’s most far reaching and stringent attempt at population control. Now, in the face of serious demographic challenges – including an aging population, a stubbornly low fertility rate, and a heavily skewed sex ratio – China’s government has relaxed the policy to two children and is tentatively moving to end all birth restrictions. Yet the true social and economic consequences of China’s population policies remain unclear. There are also increasing concerns about a shrinking workforce, difficulty caring for an elderly population, a surplus of unmarried men, the wellbeing of only children, and the tragic legacy of as many as 30 million “missing girls” through sex-selective abortion, neglect, and abandonment. These demographic issues will be among the most important long-term challenges for China.

Journal Articles

All Research Initiatives

Demography

Overview

Factors Underlying Different Myopia Prevalence between Middle- and Low-income Provinces in China

The Han-Minority Achievement Gap, Language and Returns to Schools in Rural China

Response to the Commentary 'Reassessing Disparity in Access to Higher Education in Contemporary China'

China’s Labor Transition and the Future of China’s Rural Wages and Employment

Sex Ratios and Crime: Evidence from China

Poverty in China's Colleges and the Targeting of Financial Aid

Will Demographic Change Slow China's Rise?

Prenatal Sex Selection and Missing Girls in China: Evidence from the Diffusion of Diagnostic Ultrasound

Persistent Poverty in Rural China: Where, Why, and How to Escape?

Does Attending Elite Colleges Pay in China?