The new civic epistemology of data proof: A case study of knowledge disputes in the formulation of China's fertility policy

Abstract

A variety of knowledge-related disputes emerged during the formulation of China's fertility policy. As the core epistemological element of policy decision-making, the reliability of data proof was gradually confirmed in this process. In this study, we find that data proof became a crucial consideration when the Chinese government initiated a one-child policy in the 1980s. The government used Song Jian's population cybernetics and the centennial projection of Chinese population growth as decisive support for the promulgation of this policy. The government subsequently planned to introduce a two-child policy in 2011. During this process, fierce competition arose between the knowledge claims advanced by Zhai Zhenwu and Wang Guangzhou, who differed significantly on the measurement of the fertility rate and the willingness of women to bear children. The accuracy of data proof came to be gradually realized by both the government and the public. By drawing on a co-productionist analysis of the interactions among the stakeholders, epistemology and China's agenda in this process, we conclude that a new civic epistemology of data proof for public policymaking was created in the formulation of the two public policies on fertility. This has transformed knowledge production as well as political institutions, identities and representations.