Institutionalized motivation for fertility limitation in China

Abstract After initial misgivings based on orthodox Marxist ideology regarding population control, the People's Republic of China officially came out in favour of population limitation. The government denies the dire Malthusian prophecy that population will outstrip China's supply of food and natural resources. Instead it supports population limitation to ease the costs of economic growth, which under Chinese conditions requires a strong labour force and a concentration of capital in productive enterprises rather than a high rate of consumption. By applying the experience of the developed nations, China has reduced pre-industrial levels of mortality and morbidity. This has decreased the expense to society of a non-productive populace which dies before it repays the costs of its upbringing and training. As a result, China undoubtedly has a high rate of population growth. Lower fertility will lessen the proportion of children to adult workers and will release females for employment; for these reasons the government advocates fertility control. Observers lack data from the two national censuses (1953-54 and 1964) and registration system to assess China's success in fertility reduction. Instead the patterns of social mobility and social control which shape reproductive motivation must be evaluated. In so doing I address myself to one main question: how has China's approach to economic development in the past five years affected the motivation of her youth to reduce fertility?