CASE STUDY TWO: “Three children? No way”: Young Chinese Adults’ Fertility Attitudes
- chen
- March 9, 2022
Background
In 2021, China’s birth rate reached an all-time low. As the birth rate declines and life expectancy increases, worker shortages limit economic growth and reduce tax revenue required to maintain an elderly population. As a result, China eased its one-child policy to three-child in 2021. However, the extent to which such policy changes will have an effect is unknown.
Research Questions:
- Why some fertility desires are realized and others are not?
- How do young people feel about falling short of their fertility desires?
Study Design
I conducted 42 remote 1:1 interviews with Chinese young adults aged 20-35, and utilized NVivo to code the interviews.
42 Chinese Young Adults
- Age 20-35
- 16 Males
- 26 Females
- Recruited via Snowballing
Findings & Implications
- Lifestyle:
- People with a stable jobs in mega cities tend to have untranslated fertility
- People live close to their parents or in-laws tend to be more open to the idea of having another child
- Experience:
- People growing up as the only child tend to prefer to have one child
- People with smooth first child experience tend to plan for one more child
- Concerns:
- Childcare availability, financial burden, career advancement are the main concerns
- The ability to raise the kids to become “good people”
- Policy Implications:
- The further relaxation of three-child policy does not have an impact on people’s fertility attitudes
- Helpful policies should include avoiding workplace gender discrimination, longer parental leave, childcare benefits, and education benefits