Abstract
Born under the one-child policy and growing up in an environment of tremendous socioeconomic change, the post-1980s generation of China tends to have interesting fertility preferences. This study explores the fertility desire, gender preference, and potential utilization of fetal ultrasound among the post-1980s individuals in urban China, based on a survey conducted in Beijing and Puyang, China. The ideal number of children among the post-1980s was substantially lower than the replacement level. 26% of the respondents considered China’s family planning policies as the most important determinant of their fertility desire, whereas 57% of the respondents indicated economic factors as the major determinant. With respect to gender preference, nearly half of the respondents who desired one child indicated no preference, and 79% of those who desired two children preferred 1 boy and 1 girl. In terms of potential utilization of ultrasound, the large majority of the respondents indicated an intention to use ultrasound to check the wellness of the fetus. Nearly half of them wanted to know the gender of the fetus via ultrasound examination, which is illegal in China. The findings imply that urban China has been experiencing a transition from a top-down governmental promoted fertility decline to a bottom-up individual voluntary choice of low fertility. In the context of below replacement fertility and population ageing, step-by-step relaxations of the family planning policies may lead to a small, gradual, and beneficial fertility increase.
Highlights
IntroductionIt has been over four decades since Mainland China (hereafter China) implemented its series of family planning policies
It has been over four decades since Mainland China implemented its series of family planning policies
This research revealed that the ideal parity among the post-1980s generation was far below the replacement level (i.e. 2.1)
Summary
It has been over four decades since Mainland China (hereafter China) implemented its series of family planning policies. The “wan-xi-shao 晚-稀-少” (i.e. later-longer-fewer) policy was introduced in 1970 aiming to reduce China’s fertility level It was not mandatory, the policy strongly encouraged people to have later marriages, longer child spacing and fewer children. The policy was strictly enforced in the eastern, coastal regions, moderately enforced in the central regions, and relaxed in the western regions (Zhu, Lu, & Hesketh, 2009) It was strictly enforced in urban areas of China. The sex ratio at birth increased since 1980s It was 117 (i.e. 117 males per 100 females) in 2000, and was high in rural areas where couples were allowed to have a second child if their first one was a girl (Zhu, Lu, & Hesketh, 2009).
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