Will reducing the burden of extracurricular tutoring raise fertility willingness in China? Five policy suggestions

Abstract

The average education expenditure of each child accounts for more than half of the family's per capita income in China and has held back the fertility intentions. Will the decree on unloading the burden of extracurricular tutoring raise future fertility willingness in China? Using China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) cross-sectional data in 2018, we simulate the effects of reduction in extracurricular tutoring hours and expenses on fertility behavior. The results reveal that extracurricular tutoring explains low fertility rate in China. The mothers in the one-child families are less likely to have a second birth due to participation in job markets and threshold in their career. The willingness of giving birth to a second child is remarkably increased along with the reduction in extracurricular training activities, especially for urbans. Reduction in tutoring expenditure plays a bigger role in adults' second-child desire than do tutoring hours.