When do couples sign the one-child certificate in urban China?

This paper analyzes a central part of China's one-child policy: when do eligible couples sign the one-child certificate and what are important socioeconomic determinants of this decision? We use proportional hazard models applied to micro-data from the 1985 Chinese Fertility Survey to study this question. Our results for urban residents in Hebei and Shaanxi indicate that a couple's socioeconomic characteristics significantly affect the timing of signing the certificate. In particular, education of the husband and wife, household wealth, and the age at marriage increase the probability of signing the certificate at an earlier time, while living space decreases the probability. Living in extended family structure or a male first child (to test for son preference) apparently have little effect.     

独生子女家庭育龄妇女生育意愿及其影响因素——基于湖北省鄂州、黄石、仙桃市的调查

文章基于2 421位独生子女家庭育龄妇女的调查数据,对18～45岁育龄妇女的二孩生育意愿进行了分析。结论表明,生活压力大及抚养成本高是制约育龄妇女生育二孩的重要因素;采用logit模型对独生子女家庭育龄妇女生育意愿影响因素进行的实证研究表明,个人、家庭、观念和政策是影响独生子女家庭育龄妇女生育意愿的主要因素。     

A model with long-term survivors for the analysis of current-status nuptiality data

The model proposed in this paper combines a logistic regression model and a Weibull regression model for the analysis of current-status data. This joint model allows a simultaneous estimation of two sets of effects on the covariates: one on the probability that the event occurs (also known as quantum) and the other on the timing of the event. Thus, the model can be seen either as an extension of a survival-analysis model for use with current-status data where a survival fraction is added in order explicitly to take into account the possibility that the event may never occur, or as an extension of survival analysis with long-term survivors to the analysis of current-status data. As an illustrative application we apply our model to a study of nuptiality in seventeenth-century Italy.     

A model with long-term survivors for the analysis of current-status nuptiality data

The model proposed in this paper combines a logistic regression model and a Weibull regression model for the analysis of current-status data. This joint model allows a simultaneous estimation of two sets of effects on the covariates: one on the probability that the event occurs (also known as quantum) and the other on the timing of the event. Thus, the model can be seen either as an extension of a survival-analysis model for use with current-status data where a survival fraction is added in order explicitly to take into account the possibility that the event may never occur, or as an extension of survival analysis with long-term survivors to the analysis of current-status data. As an illustrative application we apply our model to a study of nuptiality in seventeenth-century Italy.     

The one child certificate in Hebei province,China: Acceptance and consequence, 1979–1988

As part of its One Child Policy, China developed the one child certificate which offered numerous benefits to couples who had one child and promised to have no more. Using data from the Two-per-Thousand National Fertility Survey, this study describes the level of certificate acceptance in Hebei province from 1979 to 1988 and analyzes socioeconomic, cultural and early family formation factors affecting certificate acceptance as well as the role of certificate acceptance on transition to second parity. During the past decade, the level of initial certificate acceptance was 22.6 percent. This estimate is much lower than earlier published rates because it utilizes the concept of women at risk. Public resistance to the One Child Policy is evident in declining acceptance from 26.0 percent during the first five years of the policy to 11.3 percent during the 1984–1988 period. Women's response to the certificate has been influenced by the woman's status as reflected in education and occupation as well as cultural traditions, particularly son preference. The one child certificate, however, independently depresses subsequent fertility. This research indicates that efforts to understand fertility decline in China must simultaneously acknowledge the role of government family planning programs as well as socioeconomic and cultural factors.Revision of paper presented at the American Sociological Association Meeting, 1990.     

Effects of the one-child family policy on second and third births in Hebei,Shaanxi and Shanghai

This paper uses the proportional hazards model to assess the effect of the Chinese one-child policy on second and third births. The differential effects of the policy between the urban and rural areas and by the sex of previous children are highlighted. First, the urban-rural differentials have increased much after the policy, suggesting a more rapid increase in the costs of children and stricter government controls in the urban areas. Second, the sex of children has become a more important factor after the policy. The considerably higher risks to a subsequent birth among sonless families indicate the persistent strong son preferences among Chinese parents, especially in less developed areas. Although son preferences seem suppressed in Shanghai, the higher risks to a second birth after the death of a son compared to a daughter are indicative of the son preferences even in Shanghai. Relaxation of the one-child policy may increase the Chinese fertility.     

独生子女政策对人力资本水平的影响研究--基于2005年1%人口抽样调查微观数据的实证研究

本文利用2005年1%人口抽样调查的微观数据估计了独生子女政策对中国人力资本水平的影响效应,为独生子女政策是否实现了“优生优育”的政策目标提供实证证据。研究发现,独生子女政策显著提高了独生子女的人力资本水平,促使他们获得高中及以上教育程度的概率平均提高了2．7个百分点。本文还发现,独生子女政策对人力资本水平的影响效应在城乡和性别间存在显著差异,在城市的影响效应大于农村,对女性的影响大于男性,独生子女政策一定程度上扩大了人力资本水平的城乡差距,然而对缩小性别间的人力资本差距起到积极作用,进一步研究发现人力资本水平的性别间差距缩小作用主要发生在城市内部,城市女性是独生子女政策的最大受益者。最后,本文通过缩小样本的出生时间范围、与少数民族样本的对比、控制父母亲的个人特征以及采用不同的人力资本衡量指标等方法对估计结果进行了稳健性检验,结果相当稳健。     

Has the Chinese family planning policy been successful in changing fertility preferences?

Has China’s strict one-child policy been successful in changing fertility preferences? Using linked data from surveys conducted in four counties of northern China in 1991 and 1994, we compare reproductive behavior against prior fertility preferences and show when and where women change from wanting to not wanting more children. The acceptance of policy-sanctioned family size follows a development gradient and reflects the degree of enforcement. High acceptance occurs in the most urban, industrialized county and in the county with the most rigid family planning policy. Acceptance is weaker among women living in the poorest county and in the county where enforcement is most lenient.     

农村独生子女家庭养老保障的弱势地位与对策研究——来自山东农村的调查

利用来自山东省农村的调查数据,比较农村独生子女户父母和非独生子女户父母养老需求满足程度的差异。研究发现,相对于农村非独生子女户,农村独生子女户在家庭经济状况、子女经济供养、日常照料等方面存在明显弱势。应进一步完善农村计划生育家庭养老保障制度,注意处理"普惠"与"优抚"的关系,积极探索独生子女户老人集中供养制度,整合农村集体资源,弥补家庭养老能力不足,用足现有生育政策减少未来独生子女家庭数量规模。     

The Effects of Post-marital Childbearing on Divorce and Remarriage: An Application of Hazards Models with Time-dependent Covariates

In this paper we examine the effects of having a baby during a period of separation on the probability of divorce, and the impact of bearing a child while divorced on the likelihood of remarriage in the United States. Among whites, neither a first nor a second birth during separation had any significant effect on the probability of divorce. Among blacks, either a first or second birth significantly increased the chance of divorce. The function of post-marital childbearing among black women as an incentive to obtaining divorces (presumably to allow them to establish new unions formally) is important, because a large proportion remain separated indefinitely. Whereas the occurrence of both first and second births during divorce significantly increased the probability of remarriage among whites, only a second birth did so among blacks. Further analysis suggests that while the legitimization of births was an important factor among whites, there was little evidence of a comparable effect among blacks.     

Estimating the Effect of the One-Child Policy on the Sex Ratio Imbalance in China: Identification Based on the Difference-in-Differences

In China, the male-biased sex ratio has increased significantly. Because the one-child policy applies only to the Han Chinese but not to minorities, this unique affirmative policy allows us to identify the causal effect of the one-child policy on the increase in sex ratios by using a difference-in-differences (DD) estimator. Using the 1990 census, we find that the strict enforcement of the one-child policy led to 4.4 extra boys per 100 girls in the 1980s, accounting for about 94% of the total increase in sex ratios during this period. The robust tests indicate that the estimated policy effect is not likely confounded by other omitted policy shocks or socioeconomic changes. Moreover, we conduct the DD estimation using both the 2000 census and the 2005 mini-census. Our estimates suggest that the one-child policy resulted in about 7.0 extra boys per 100 girls for the 1991–2005 birth cohorts. The effect of the one-child policy accounts for about 57% and 54% of the total increases in sex ratios for the 1991–2000 and 2001–2005 birth cohorts, respectively.     

Can we believe recent data on birth expectations in the United States?

A share of the recent decline in birth expectations of young American wives may be due to the historically unique stimulus of intense public attention to population growth and family size. Data on whites from numerous national surveys provide at least four types of evidence favoring this thesis: a sudden massing of responses in the two-child category (the ZPG formula); a tolerance for the large family; an aversion to childlessness and the one-child family; and an inconsistency between respondents’ evaluations of the family cycle and childspacing, on the one hand, and their personal acceptance of the two-child norm, on the other. The lack of congruence in American reproductive attitudes at present suggests that some conservatism might be wise in accepting current birth expectations as valid indicators of the long-run intentions of youthful cohorts.     

我国第一代独生子女家庭的养老问题研究

我国30多年的计划生育政策产生了数以亿计的独生子女人口,数量庞大的独生子女父母将渐次跨入老龄行列,现实的养老困境和养老风险正在迫近第一代独生子女及其父母和家庭,中国即将迎来独子养老时代。其中,独生子女空巢家庭可能会面临更多、更大的养老问题,尤其是那些独生子女残缺家庭。文章基于现有研究所集中论述的问题做出评述,并就所关心的有关问题做出进一步的探讨。     

Welfare benefits,economic opportunities,and out-of-wedlock births among black teenage girls

This article presents a model of teenage out-of-wedlock births that incorporates the effects of both welfare and nonwelfare economic opportunities. We construct measures of the likely "medium-run" income available to a teenage girl in the event of an out-of-wedlock birth and in the absence of a birth and then estimate a logit model to determine their importance in influencing fertility behavior. The model is estimated with data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics on nearly 900 black teenagers. We find weak and statistically insignificant positive effects of Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) benefit levels and stronger and significant negative effects of economic opportunities on the probability of AFDC-related out-of-wedlock teen births.     

An Individual Relative Deprivation Index and Its Curve Considering Income Scope

China is characterized by a low fertility intention, a strong preference for sons, as well as a stringent birth control policy. In this study, we used data from a Fertility Intention and Behavior Survey of 2101 questionnaires conducted in 2013 in Shaanxi Province of northwestern China, and event history analysis methods to examine the effect of fertility intention and preference for sons on the probability of having a second child. The results not only validate the correlation of fertility intention with having a second child empirically, even in the low fertility intention and stringent birth control context of China, but also show that women with a preference for sons were less likely to have a second child. Women with son preference turn to sex-selective abortion to ensure that their first child is a son, thus reducing the likelihood of a second child and decreasing the fertility rate. Our findings also shed light on China’s potential fertility policy adjustment.     

吉林省计划生育家庭基本情况调查报告

吉林省人口计生委于2003年7月至11月对全省领证独生子女家庭和双女家庭进行基本情况调查,对计划生育家庭贫困原因进行分析,对救助贫困计划生育家庭提出建议。     

Contraceptive acceptance and pregnancy: a matrix approach to the analysis of competing risks

Abstract This paper represents an initial attempt to formalize the relationships among post-partum sterility, fecundability, and contraceptive acceptance in terms of absorbing Markov chains. Acceptance of contraception offered by family planning programmes is analyzed as a possible event in time for a cohort of recently delivered women as they pass through phases of temporary sterility and fecundability towards another possible pregnancy. The results of the study indicate that once a woman leaves the post-partum anovulatory stage, the probability of her becoming pregnant again is large compared to the competing rates of contraceptive acceptance currently in force. Unless highly fecund non-contracepting women are approached by family planning programmes shortly after a pregnancy has been terminated (by childbirth or abortion), they will quickly become ineligible to accept either the pill or IUD because of once again being 'currently pregnant'.     

Center-Based Care in the Context of One-Child Policy in China: Do Child Gender and Siblings Matter?

We examined the effects of child gender and siblings on center-based care enrollment in the context of China’s one-child policy and its tradition of preference to have many children, especially sons. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) 2000 wave and multilevel logistic regression models, we found that children without siblings consistently had higher odds of receiving center-based care than those with siblings, while there was no evidence that child gender mattered. Further analyses did not show evidence that the effects of child gender and siblings were moderated by household and community resources or local one-child policy. However, we did find that the presence of male, older, or school-age siblings (as compared to female, younger, or preschool-age siblings) reduced preschoolers’ odds of receiving center-based care. This was possibly because parents valued formal education much more than preschools and thus focused more on boys when they entered elementary schools than on their sisters or younger brothers. These findings suggest that more attention needs to be given to the equal education opportunities for boys and girls as well as for children with and without siblings.     

The trends of contraceptives of people in Shanghai since early 1980s

Shanghai has had the lowest fertility rate in China for many years. Shanghai had a negative rate of natural growth during 1990-95. During 1980-93, fertility dropped continuously. In 1982, contraceptive use among married women included 29.47% using IUDs, 29.33% using oral pills, 23.44% using female sterilization, and 10.48% using condoms. Contraceptive prevalence declined slightly from 98.6% in 1982 to 92.29% in 1993. By 1993, method use changed. Oral pill and female sterilization use declined to 8.04% and 7.22%, respectively, among married women of reproductive age. IUD use increased dramatically to 72.2% in 1993. Condom use declined to 8.83% of total users. Despite reduced contraceptive prevalence, the birth rate declined from 18.51/1000 population in 1982 to 6.50/1000 population in 1993. The proportion of women accepting the one-child certificate increased from 53.32% of all married women of reproductive age in 1984 to 70.13% in 1993. The shift use of contraceptive methods means reliance on long-term reversible methods.     

The effect of women’s participation in the labour market on the postponement of first childbirth: a comparison of Italy and Hungary

This paper analyses the effect of increasing female participation in the labour market on the transition to first childbirth. Regional perspectives are considered to help us understand how postponement behaviour is changing over time and at different paces in each region. The analysis is based on the first wave of the Generations and Gender Survey of Italy and Hungary. We use a multilevel event history random intercept model to examine the effect of individuals’ positions in the labour market on the transition to motherhood, controlling for differences in macrolevel factors related to regional backgrounds in the two countries. The regional data for Italy came from the Italian National Statistical Institute, and for Hungary from our imputation developed from the time series available at the national and the regional levels (Hungarian Central Statistical Office, KSH). The postponement of first childbirth is strongly linked to the increasing involvement of women in paid work, but with opposite effects in the two countries. Even if we control for changes in women’s levels of education over time and for shifts in women’s aspirations and levels of attainment in the labour market, we find that being employed remains a risk factor for the postponement of the first birth among Italian women, and a strong protective factor among Hungarian women. At the contextual level, the variables that take into account the regional socio-economic changes provides evidence of important effects on individual behaviour among Italian women, and of only minor effects among Hungarian women. All of the regional breakdowns in both Italy and Hungary show that the postponement of motherhood goes hand-in-hand with the acceptance of deep cultural and socio-economic changes.