ADAM MINTER: If China wants babies, it should be nicer to women
China's fertility decline since 1970 took place even before the government introduced the one-child policy late in that decade
China is home to 241million people over the age of 60, about 17% of the population. By 2050, the elderly will number around 500millionand account for more than a third of the population. According to a Bloomberg News report, the government has grown so alarmed by this development that it's preparing to scrap all limits on the number of children a family can have. By early next year, the infamous one-child and, more recently, two-child policies should be no more. That decision is worth celebrating as a victory for reproductive rights. On its own, however, it won't inspire a baby boom. To encourage people to have more children, the government will have to overcome some deeply ingrained biases and make it easier, not harder, for women to work while raising kids. By one accounting, as much as three-quarters of China's fertility decline since 1970 took place even before the government introduced the one-child policy late in that decade. Indeed, despite being often brutally enforced, the ...
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