The population growth and economic development in developing countries. Social and Economic Effects of China’s One-Child Policy (OCP).

The Social and Economic Effects of China’s One-Child Policy (OCP)
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Social and Economic Effects of China’s One-Child Policy (OCP)
Introduction
Modern family planning methods were mainly conceived in the 20th century owing to the concern about the ever-increasing global population. Their effects, both positive and negative, are evident across the world. Although there were large scale family planning programs in more than 100 countries in the 1990s, China’s One-Child Policy (OCP) is among the world’s greatest experiment on human social organization. The OCP was initiated in 1979 to alleviate social, economic, and environmental challenges (Zhang, 2017). It was first conceived as a birth control program but later became law, compulsory to all women within the child-bearing age bracket. Unlike other family planning programs, the OCP issued a mandatory single-birth quota to all couples. But its implementation has been different for diverse ethnic groups and regions over time. China’s birth control program, OCP, received both praise and criticism throughout its period of execution.
Generally, the OCP has been blamed by the international community accusing it of denying Chinese women their freedom of choice and violating their reproductive rights via involuntarily abortions, sterilizations, and sexual discrimination against females. China witnessed an economic boom over the last few decades yet its fertility was way below the replacement level by the turn of the 21st century. The country could no longer defend its one-child policy within such a demographic and economic context, leading to its termination in 2015. All Chinese couples are currently allowed to have two children, owing to the two-children policy which took effect in January 2016. The essay explores the social and economic impacts of the one-child policy in China and family dynamics as well as the significance of the two-children policy in alleviating the situation.
Overview of The One-Child Policy (OCP)
The OCP was formally initiated in 1979 as a curbing mechanism to social, economic, and environmental problems. At the time, the country experienced a high rate of unemployment and scarcity of natural resources, a phenomenon highly attributed to a sharp population expansion (Rosenzweig & Zhang, 2009). In February 1982, the central government allowed regional authorities to exercise their power to issue specific and locally adjusted regulations that suit diverse demographic and socioeconomic conditions across the country. In 1984, birth control regulations were imposed by the central government. The regulations were to be reviewed and approved by the provincial Standing Committee of the People's Congress and provincial-level authorities but following local conditions (Zhang, 2017). Therefore, the OCP became compulsory and under the local and provincial authorities rather than voluntary and under the central government as it was in other parts of the world.
OCP prohibited couples from having more than a child. However, its impartial implementation created several exemptions. The policy's birth quota depended on the residence and ethnicity of the couple. Urban and rural residents had different birth quotas, and the same applied to the Han and Non-Han ethnic groups (Liao, 2013). In this case, the OCP is said to be biased against the Han ethnic group because more than 90% of the Chinese population comprise the Ham ethnicity. In urban areas, Han couples were restricted to a single child but they were allowed to have a second child in the rural areas, especially if the first one is a girl. The Non-Han ethnic couples could have up to three children, regardless of their residence or gender of the children (Zhang, 2017). Unauthorized birth attracted the OCP regulatory fine and other administrative actions including loss of employment or party membership. The amount collected through the policy fine was not publicly declared until recently.
Consequences of the OCP
As earlier stated, China’s OCP is among the most controversial family planning programs in human history. It received both praise and criticism at both local and international levels from the very first days of implementation. One of its greatest achievements is the significant drop in the country’s population growth rate. It is, however, highly criticized for undermining the reproductive and human rights of women through mandatory sterilizations, abortions, and widespread neglect of girl-child rights (Huang, 2017). Multiple unintended consequences of the OCP led to a socioeconomic influence that affected individuals, families, and Chinese society. Several empirical approaches have been used to investigate the consequences of the policy. For example, some studies compare the birth behavior of women during and before the OCP was initiated with 1979 as the cut-off. Another approach uses a comparison of the outcomes of Han ethnicity and no-Han ethnic groups before and after the implementation of the policy. Several studies have used variations in OCP regulatory fines for illegal births to identify the effects of the fines. In some cases, the impartial implementation of the OCP across different regions can be compared with the variation in exposure to different birth determinants about the OCP restrictions.
* Effect of The One-Child Policy On Fertility
The initial objective of the OCP was to minimize the rate of population growth in the country. The paramount parameter would be to find out whether it achieved the primary goal. On numerous occasions, the OCP is said to have greatly reduced the rate of population growth since it was implemented. Investigations show consistency on the correlation between fertility and the OCP's restrictions. An increase in the prevalence of contraceptives reduces the total fertility rate (Zhang, 2017). Despite this observation, a group of studies have the opinion that the decline in China’s fertility was due to socioeconomic development but not necessarily the policy’s restrictions. A reconciliation of the diverse views indicates that the policy contributed to the already declining fertility rate for a short period but economic dynamics are responsible for the long-term decline and sustenance of the low fertility level (Liao, 2013). In other words, the current low fertility levels in the country would have occurred as a response to rapid economic expansion, with or without the OCP restrictions. However, the timeline of decline would have been different without the policy. OCP is thus not the main factor toward the low fertility rate witnessed, but rather acted as a catalyst to China's desire to achieve a below-replacement fertility level.
* Effect of The One-Child Policy On Human Capital Accumulation
The effects of the OCP may affect more than one family-related outcome. A family is likely to invest more in the human capital of a child when they expect to have only one (Rosenzweig & Zhang, 2009). A study comparing the human capital investment in families with one child with those with twins as firstborns revealed that OCP’s induced decline in fertility increased human capital investment in children, in the long run (Huang, 2017). The approach was applied in evaluating the significance of OCP on China’s human capital investment, and it was revealed that the policy improved the probability of joining a learning institution by at most 4 percent, the likelihood of joining higher learning institutions by less than 9%, academic performance by 1 percent, and chances of being healthy by less than 4 percent (Lee, 2012). Just like in any other country, the state of education in China has developed and advanced over the years. However, studies have established a minimal link between educational transformations witnessed with the changes in fertility levels caused by OCP’s impact on child human capital investment and education.
* Effect of The One-Child Policy On Gender Balance
The OCP faced international pressure and criticism for it seemed to support gender-based discrimination against female newborns. The policy is discriminative against girl children who, in most cases, were aborted, abandoned, or unregistered. Female children often had a disadvantage in terms of healthcare and education (Lee, 2012). The sex ratio was way higher than 125 in most cities and urban neighborhoods. The restrictions of the policy prompted a strong desire to give birth to boys, causing parents to use ultrasound imaging to choose whether to keep or terminate a pregnancy depending on the gender of the fetus. In the 1980s, ultrasound technology was already being used in China to identify the sex of the fetus. It was easier to predict the birth of a son. China’s unbalanced sex ratios are attributed to sex-selected abortion, female infanticide, and abandonment, and unreported female births (Liao, 2013). Unreported girls end up locked out of basic opportunities including public education and social welfare unless they receive shelter via informal adoption. Other social consequences of an unbalanced sex ratio inc...