Case Studies
China’s one child policy:
Strictest anti-natalist policy, from 1979 (after a two-child policy) to 2015.
Why did it start?
● In 1949, The Chinese Communist Party encouraged a high BR to have more people
to produce food and have a strong army.
● The population grew too much: from 540 million to 840 million in 20 years
(1949-1969)
● The country’s resources struggled to cope.
Late, sparse and few policy:
● 1970 to 1979
● People were encouraged to have children later, to leave longer gaps between each
child and have fewer children in total.
● The policy worked well; the growth rate dropped from 2.61 in 1970 to 1.48 in 1979.
● However, the population still grew and reached 1 billion in 1979 so a stricter policy
was enforced (1 child) because it was predicted that future food supplies would not
be able to cope.
One child:
● 1979 to 2015
● Couples who only had one child were given benefits like longer maternity leave,
better housing, free healthcare and free education for their one child.
● If a couple had a second child, their benefits were stopped and they were fined a
portion of their income.
● The government implemented a law to prevent people marrying before a certain
age.
● Free contraception and family planning advice.
● A permission slip to allow a couple to try for a child. Without the slip a child could
not be registered at birth and therefore received no benefits or education.
● ‘Tell-tales’ in the factories who reported to the authorities on their fellow workers if
they become pregnant.
● The ‘granny-police’ to spy on couples in the area where they lived.
● Very late abortions to terminate second pregnancies.
● Free sterilisation for couples who already have one child.
Successes:
, + BR fell, population growth rate fell to 0.8%, fertility rate reduced.
+ Perks (free childcare, transport, employment, etc.)
+ Free contraception and family planning offered, increasing education.
+ In 2015, people were allowed 2 children again across China.
+ More opportunities for gaining knowledge-> more wages-> improvement in living
conditions
Problems:
- Male:Female imbalance, 33.5 million extra males
- Female infanticide (typically in rural areas)
- Emotional turmoil due to the aggressive nature of the policy (mental health issues)
- Lead to an ageing population
- Open to corruption (enabling bribery of government officials to falsify data)
Food Shortages- Swaziland:
Caused by: Unemployment in neighbouring South Africa. Migrant workers there from
Swaziland returned home. This increased unemployment in Swaziland causing greater
poverty and food shortages. Chronic under-nutrition for children was a major problem
leading to slower growth and many underweight children.
● In 2010 the GDP/ person was just $4500
● In 2011 the life expectancy was 48 years
● The Swazi population was badly weakened by HIV/AIDS
Extent of food problem:
● A drought in 1991-1992 caused the maize output to seriously decline. The
government had to seek emergency international food aid.
● Between 2000-2010 up to 2 thirds still relied on food aid.
● In 2008-2009 only around ½ of the maize required to feed the population was
harvested.
Problems of food aid:
- Farmers think that they will always be supplied, so become dependent or sell what
they are given.
- Children born since the 1990s did not know anything other than food aid, because
parents gave up on farming. So they never acquire much needed agricultural skills at
home.
China’s one child policy:
Strictest anti-natalist policy, from 1979 (after a two-child policy) to 2015.
Why did it start?
● In 1949, The Chinese Communist Party encouraged a high BR to have more people
to produce food and have a strong army.
● The population grew too much: from 540 million to 840 million in 20 years
(1949-1969)
● The country’s resources struggled to cope.
Late, sparse and few policy:
● 1970 to 1979
● People were encouraged to have children later, to leave longer gaps between each
child and have fewer children in total.
● The policy worked well; the growth rate dropped from 2.61 in 1970 to 1.48 in 1979.
● However, the population still grew and reached 1 billion in 1979 so a stricter policy
was enforced (1 child) because it was predicted that future food supplies would not
be able to cope.
One child:
● 1979 to 2015
● Couples who only had one child were given benefits like longer maternity leave,
better housing, free healthcare and free education for their one child.
● If a couple had a second child, their benefits were stopped and they were fined a
portion of their income.
● The government implemented a law to prevent people marrying before a certain
age.
● Free contraception and family planning advice.
● A permission slip to allow a couple to try for a child. Without the slip a child could
not be registered at birth and therefore received no benefits or education.
● ‘Tell-tales’ in the factories who reported to the authorities on their fellow workers if
they become pregnant.
● The ‘granny-police’ to spy on couples in the area where they lived.
● Very late abortions to terminate second pregnancies.
● Free sterilisation for couples who already have one child.
Successes:
, + BR fell, population growth rate fell to 0.8%, fertility rate reduced.
+ Perks (free childcare, transport, employment, etc.)
+ Free contraception and family planning offered, increasing education.
+ In 2015, people were allowed 2 children again across China.
+ More opportunities for gaining knowledge-> more wages-> improvement in living
conditions
Problems:
- Male:Female imbalance, 33.5 million extra males
- Female infanticide (typically in rural areas)
- Emotional turmoil due to the aggressive nature of the policy (mental health issues)
- Lead to an ageing population
- Open to corruption (enabling bribery of government officials to falsify data)
Food Shortages- Swaziland:
Caused by: Unemployment in neighbouring South Africa. Migrant workers there from
Swaziland returned home. This increased unemployment in Swaziland causing greater
poverty and food shortages. Chronic under-nutrition for children was a major problem
leading to slower growth and many underweight children.
● In 2010 the GDP/ person was just $4500
● In 2011 the life expectancy was 48 years
● The Swazi population was badly weakened by HIV/AIDS
Extent of food problem:
● A drought in 1991-1992 caused the maize output to seriously decline. The
government had to seek emergency international food aid.
● Between 2000-2010 up to 2 thirds still relied on food aid.
● In 2008-2009 only around ½ of the maize required to feed the population was
harvested.
Problems of food aid:
- Farmers think that they will always be supplied, so become dependent or sell what
they are given.
- Children born since the 1990s did not know anything other than food aid, because
parents gave up on farming. So they never acquire much needed agricultural skills at
home.
