China’s two-child policy will underwhelm
Simply allowing people to have more children does not mean they will
JUST as Soviet planners periodically reviewed their quotas for grain production, so too has China updated its policy on baby-making: all Chinese couples will soon be allowed to have two children, not just one.
The change, brought about in part due to worries about an ageing population and a shrinking workforce, will be welcome news for many urban couples who want a second child but are currently barred from having one. And it represents a slight loosening of one of the most intrusive and oppressive social policies ever devised. But it will have only a modest impact on China’s birth rate (see chart).
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