The end of the one-child policy in China?

March 18, 2011

China’s one-child policy, introduced in 1979, was a controversial social decision not only for the country, but also for the rest of the world. The policy was launched at the beginning of China’s economic reforms, when the country was home to a quarter of the world’s population. The Chinese Government at that time saw population containment as an essential component to alleviate its social, economic, and environmental predicaments. In 2007, Chinese authorities claimed the policy had helped prevent 400 million births. They also justified their coercive social experiment by arguing that it had contributed greatly to economic growth. In a survey undertaken in 2008, 76% of the Chinese population apparently supported the policy. (The Lancet)