Case Study - Population Policies - Chinese Anti-Natalist Policy

The great leap forward, which began in 1956. Mao said that 'every stomach comes with a pair of hands', but this huge population growth (between 1949 and 1970 went from 550 to 830 million!!) led to starvation and famine as agricultural methods were not improving rapidly. This population put a huge stair on resources, education, food and housing.

Set up in 1979 by Deng Xiaoping. Couples were monitored and regional targets were set. Rewards were introduced, including fully paid maternity leave, improved housing, extra land.

The child also gets: Money, free education, priority placement for university + jobs, and medical care. For more wealthy families these are no incentives, whilst the policy is hard to enforce in rural areas. If the contract is broken, all the incentives have to be repaid.

Growth rate has decreased, + the average age of marriage has increased from 18 to 22. There is also more female infanticide, particularly in rural areas where a son is needed in order for farming to be more effective.

By 2030, there will be a huge number of people of retirement age with a shrinking economiccaly active proportion of the country to help them. The population now stands at 1.3 billion, and the full effects and benefits of the policy have not really been felt yet.