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AN INVESTIGATION OF WOMEN'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS FERTILITY AND CHINA'S FAMILY PLANNING POLICY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2009

SHIXIONG CAO ,
TAO TIAN ,
FAN QI ,
LI MA  and
GUOSHENG WANG
SHIXIONG CAO
Affiliation:
College of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, PR China
TAO TIAN
Affiliation:
College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing, PR China
FAN QI
Affiliation:
Key Lab of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, PR China
LI MA
Affiliation:
College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agriculture University, Beijing, PR China
GUOSHENG WANG*
Affiliation:
College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agriculture University, Beijing, PR China
*
¶To whom correspondence should be addressed: guosheng@cau.edu.cn
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Summary

Reducing China's population has formerly been considered a good thing because of the perceived environmental and social risks of overpopulation, but it has recently become apparent that the resulting population decline may create problems that will become increasingly serious in the future. The results of a survey of 4600 women in nineteen Chinese provinces in 2005 indicated that young age, high income, high education level, urban location and good employment all decreased a woman's willingness to bear children. The risks created by declining fertility in these groups have been intensified by China's ‘one child’ family planning policy. However, as a result of current trends and China's policies, the country's population will continue to age, leading to social problems and difficulties for sustainable development both in China and around the world. Therefore, China's policy-makers must begin planning to adjust their policy by encouraging women to give birth to more than one child.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , May 2010 , pp. 359 - 375
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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