China
Government-organized distant resettlement and Three Gorges Project, China
Resettlement of population displaced by major infrastructure projects is an important development issue with concerns about the economic social and environmental consequences being paramount (World Bank 2001; Cernea and McDowell 2000; OED 1998). Cernea and McDowell (2000:12) state that “the most widespread effect of involuntary displacement is the impoverishment of a considerable number of people”. They propose that socially responsible resettlement – that is resettlement genuinely guided by equity considerations – can not only counteract this impoverishment but also generate benefits for both the national and local economy. The World Bank (2001) has indicated that the objectives in involuntary settlement should be as follows:
Population aging in Japan, with reference to China
The 1980s may be characterized by two demographic issues which are receiving rapidly increasing attention.
Does the gender of the child affect acceptance of the one-child certificate? The case of Shaanxi Province, China
Since the late 1970s the Chinese Government has promoted the "one couple one child" population policy to slow the rate of population growth. Couples with one child are encouraged to apply for a one-child certificate that is offered nationwide for those applicants who have signed a contract with a local family planning agency promising to have only one child. In return they receive a monetary bonus and preferential assignment of housing and employment. Chen (1985:55) found that a total of 42 per cent of women with one child in the 1982 One-per-Thousand Population Fertility Sampling Survey had obtained a certificate; 78 per cent of those were in urban areas and 31 per cent resided in rural areas.
Factors affecting delay in obtaining an abortion among unmarried young women in three cities in China
Ethnic mosaic of modern China: An analysis of fertility and mortality data for the twelve largest ethnic minorities
There are major variations in fertility and mortality patterns among the ethnic populations in China mainly owing to different stages of economic development.
Low fertility in China: Trends, policy and impact
China currently is the country with the largest population in the world. The Fifth National Population Census in 2000 reports that the total population of mainland China stands at 1.27 billion (Zhuang and Zhang 2003) while the 1 Percent National Population Sample Survey (mini-census) carried out in November 2005 reports the total population to be at 1.31 billion (National Statistics Bureau (NSB) 2006).1 China is also the country with the most stringent and government-directed family planning programme and fertility policy having experienced a dramatic decline in fertility from 5 to 6 children per woman in the 1950s to less than 2 in recent years. The 2000 census reports China’s total fertility rate (TFR) to be at 1.4 (NSB 2003). The rapid changes occurring in China’s population dynamics call for a review of the fertility transition in China in terms of trends policy and impact. This article will first discuss the population dynamics ongoing in China in terms of growth birth rate and fertility and then examine the fertility policy implemented by the Government of China before exploring the impact of fertility decline in terms of population ageing gender equality sex ratio at birth and labour supply.
Population ageing and labour supply prospects in China from 2005 to 2050
Increased life expectancy and rapid fertility decline since the 1970s have combined to create a very rapid rate of population ageing in China. These demographic developments are expected to result in an ageing workforce and a significant slow-down in the growth of the working-age population. According to the United Nations medium variant population projection the size of the working age population will increase only slightly over the next 10 years before beginning to shrink soon after 2020. Furthermore since the participation rate of the elderly population is much lower than that of the prime-age labour force ageing of the workforce will reduce the aggregate labour force participation rate (ALFPR).
The aging of China’s population: Perspectives and implications
Since the late 1970s China has been making strong efforts to accelerate the pace of modernization. Because the Chinese Government considers poor economic development and rapid population growth to be the main obstacles to modernization it has emphasised both of those aspects.
The fertility of Korean minority women in China: 1950-1985
Between the time of the second and third population censuses of China (1964-1982) the annual growth rate of the Chinese population averaged 2.1 per cent. The annual growth rate of the Han majority was 2.0 per cent; the growth rates for all other ethinc groups were higher than the national average except for the Korean minority whose average annual growth rate was 1.5 per cent.
Age structure transition of China’s population: Regional differentials and implications for development policy
Increasing attention is being paid to the rapid change of population age structures in developing countries even though population growth has long been considered as the main issue in those countries. As a result of the consistent decline in fertility over the last two to three decades the working age population currently claims a large proportion of the total age structure. Soon however rapid growth of the elderly population will be one of the most conspicuous characteristics of population change in the developing countries. It is estimated that currently the total world population increases 1.7 per cent annually whereas the portions of the population aged 55+ years and 65+ years increase 2.2 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively. Eighty per cent of the increase in the 55-t population occurs in the developing countries. In the next three decades the population aged 65 and over in the developing countries will be twice as great as in the developed countries (Kinsella 1988).
Rural labour force transition and patterns of urbanization in China
Urbanization is characterized by the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas (Kupper and Kupper 1985 p. 874). The term urbanization refers to such a redistribution of population as a demographic phenomenon and the changing morphological structure of urban agglomerations and their development as social phenomena. The migration of populations links the rural areas with urban areas and is affected by “push” forces from rural areas and “pull” forces from urban areas. Different degrees of these forces determine the different pace patterns and processes of migration and urbanization and the transition of populations.
Breast-feeding patterns and correlates in Shaanxi, China
Breast-feeding is almost universal and lengthy in China especially in less developed areas (SSB 1986; Tu 1989a). Breast-feeding serves as an effective means of birth spacing in traditional Chinese society where the reproductive potential is enormous owing to early and universal marriage. It also provides protection against malnutrition and infectious diseases that is very important for child survival especially in rural areas where access to modern medical facilities is quite limited and infant formulas are not available (Tu 1989a).
Fertility trends in rural China in the 1980s: Cohort effect versus period effect
While the dramatic decline in fertility in China in the 1970s has been acknowledged worldwide and is very well documented in the demographic literature both at home and abroad (China Population Information Center 1984; Coale 1984 among others) China’s fertility and related population trends in the 1980s have evoked much concern and discussion in recent years (Hardee-Cleveland and Banister 1988; Zeng 1989; Kaufman et al. 1989; Greenhalgh 1989 1990; Tien 1990a; Aird 1990; Poston 1991 among others).
China: A unique urbanization model
In recent decades many third world countries have been experiencing rapid rates of urbanization resulting in an explosion in the siae of their urban population. China however has been a striking exception to the general patterns. The Government of China has intervened in order to keep the process of urbanization under control. Since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949 the Government has taken measures to control gradually the rapid growth of population and to regulate by various means the increase of the urban population and the level of urbanization. The low level of urbanization in China has thus been well recognized in recent studies of the demographic geographic social and economic development of this country (Chen 1973; Thompson 1975; Chang 1976; Chiu 1980; Yeh and Xu 1984; Chen 1988).
Magic and myth of migration: A case study of a special economic zone in China
Rapid economic and demographic growth propelled the tiny coastal town of Shenzhen (close to Hong Kong) into one of the most dynamic and modern-looking cities in China. Because population movement in China has long been heavily regulated one may be puzzled by the question of how migration could play any major role in fostering Shenzhen’s boom.
The effects of intergenerational support on the changes in cognitive functioning of the rural elderly in China
A major issue in all societies especially those that are ageing is the extent to which the elderly can live independently. Cognitive functioning is a crucial factor in the degree of independence of the elderly while cognitive impairment can predict the loss of functions and even death. There is a close and direct relationship between social support and cognitive functioning and social support-preventable cognitive impairment (Bassuk and Berkman 1999). A recent cross-sectional study demonstrated that intergenerational support improved the cognitive functioning of the elderly in rural China (Wang Li and Zhang 2005). However within the context of high levels of migration of working-age adults from rural to urban areas of China multivariate analysis of longitudinal data on changes in the cognitive functioning of the elderly is required. This article presents an analysis of selected data from a 3-wave longitudinal survey conducted from 2001 to 2006 among 997 parents aged 60 and older living in rural Anhui Province China showing that intergenerational transfers especially financial transfers have a significant influence on the changes in the cognitive functioning of the elderly. As such the findings bring a new dimension to the current scientific discussion on the impacts of changing traditional patterns of intergenerational support for elderly persons in China.
Health status and health-seeking behaviour between interprovincial and intraprovincial rural-to-urban young migrants in Nanjing, China
HIV and AIDs stigma and discrimination in China: Results from a national survey
Worldwide stigma and discrimination have been identified as tremendous barriers to addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic beginning with Jonathan Mann in the 1980s (Mann 1987) and by others (UNAIDS 2001 2008; Reidpath Brijnath and Chan 2005; APN+ 2004). Stigma was defined by Goffman (1963) nearly half a century ago as a discrediting attribute about an individual or group that serves to devalue that person or group in the eyes of the society. More recent theoretical frameworks suggest that stigmatization and discrimination are manifest in a number of contexts including within families communities schools employment travel/ migration opportunities health-care settings and HIV/AIDS programmes (Parker and Aggleton 2002) and in religion and the media (Malcolm and others 1998). A study in four countries in Asia found pervasive discrimination with 80 per cent of respondents having experienced AIDS-related discrimination including nearly one in five facing discrimination within their families and in their workplaces (APN+ 2004). In a review of interventions to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma Brown MacIntyre and Trujillo (2003) noted that stigma affects prevention behaviours test-seeking care-seeking quality of care provided to positive clients and perceptions and treatment of people living with HIV and AIDS by communities and families. Parker and others (2002) contend that HIV/AIDS-related stigma is often layered upon other stigma for example the one associated with engaging in illegal behaviour such as sex work and drug use. Furthermore families with HIV-positive members often face stigma from the community. In order to combat stigma and the associated discrimination it is important to understand the knowledge beliefs and attitudes and how they vary across groups within a country. Such knowledge is critical for designing interventions to reduce stigma and discrimination.
Aging in China: Demographic alternatives
As a consequence of their rapid fertility declines and pronounced mortality improvements in recent years many of the developing countries in Asia have become increasingly aware of a number of serious aging problems (Ogawa 1988a). More importantly primarily because the demographic transition in these Asian countries has been substantially shorter than in the developed countries (Leete 1987) the process of population aging in the former has been and will be considerably faster than that observed in the latter. China provides a salient example of fast population aging among the developing countries in Asia.
Levels, trends and determinants of fertility in China: 1973-1987
With the development of its family planning programme China has achieved great success since the 1970s in slowing the growth of its population. This is evident in the rapid decline in fertility: the total fertility rate (TFR) declined from the 1960s average of 5.68 to 4.0 in the 1970s and to only 2.46 for the first eight years of the 1980s.
China: Surplus labour and migration
The populations of most developing countries have been growing rapidly in recent decades. During the 1970s and 1980s the number of persons of working age has often grown even faster than total populations. The struggle to provide enough employment for a burgeoning labour force often fails resulting in high unemployment plus a large part of the working population “visibly underemployed” (working fewer hours or days than they would like) or “invisibly underemployed” (doing work of extremely low productivity for low income or underutilizing skills).
Ageing of the population in China: Trends and implications
The last decade has seen increasing interest in population ageing especially in the more developed countries of the world (Tinker 1989). The explosion of books journals and articles on ageing gives an indication of this growing interest. There are plenty of reasons for this interest: the profit motive the debate about the provision of social services and health care the involvement of elderly people themselves and most importantly the changing age structure of the population which will result in increasing dependency of the elderly on society.
Contraceptive failure and its subsequent effects in China: A two-stage event history analysis
Replacement of cheap IUDs with more effective ones could significantly reduce China’s high contraceptive failure rate
Temporary migration and its frequency from urban households in China
Since 1978 economic reforms have brought about dramatic increases in temporary migration.
Family characteristics of internal migration in China
Social factors and family considerations play an important part in shaping migration patterns and influencing outcomes
The effect of sex preference on subsequent fertility in two provinces of China
China’s birth control programme did reduce couples’ demand for children but it did not change their attitudes about ’male superiority’
Human resources development and poverty alleviation: A study of 23 poor counties in China
To reduce poverty there first must be an improvement in human resources and increased investment in human capital.
A speculative analysis of socio-economic influences on the fertility transition in China
The dramatic changes in fertility that occurred in China during the past few decades are well known. The 1982 One-per-Thousand Fertility Sampling Survey of China reveals that the total fertility rate fell from 5.81 at the beginning of 1950 to 2.63 in 1981.
Provincial patterns of contraceptive use in China
More attention should be paid to the quality of care in family planning programmes instead of focusing on quantitative aspects.
Spatial effects of “informal urbanization” in China: The case of Fujian Province
The effects of the development of township and village enterprises are not yet evident but their potential is enormous especially with regard to the need for urban planning
Sex ratio at birth in China, with reference to other areas in East Asia: What we know
Society-wide efforts are needed to emphasize the value of girls and women and to promote true equality of the sexes.
Social support among the aged in Wuhan, China
Besides living arrangements and enacted instrumental support proper emphasis should also be given to various aspects of interpersonal exchanges and their interrelationships
The fertility decline in China: The contribution of changes in marital status and marital fertility
The policy prospects for retaining a low level of fertility must take into account the effects of socioeconomic development on fertility.
Latin America meets China and India: Prospects and challenges for trade and investment
The high growth levels projected for China and India will make these two countries the most important pole of the global economy for the next few years creating a market of great potential for Latin American and Caribbean exports. These markets had remained largely untapped until recently with the exception of certain South American primary products. Latin America should strengthen its ties with the two Asian countries in order to increase production synergies with them. Free trade agreements and trade and investment partnerships should also be established in order to increase access to both markets and facilitate insertion into Asian production and export chains.
Recent economic trends in China and their implications for trade with Latin America and the Caribbean
Among the East and Southeast Asian economies often regarded as the most successful showcases the People’s Republic of China (PRC) occupies an outstanding place. This economy has one of the fastest growing GNPs in the world and its outward orientation in the post-Mao Zedong era has made the country a significant world trade partner so that the question of whether or not the economy stays on its sustained growth path will affect the welfare of the world economy in its entirety including Latin America. The deepening of the ongoing economic reforms coupled with prudent macro policies should insure that the PRC’s economy does indeed stay on course in its sustained yet gradual transformation process. Despite the already eminent position that the country occupies on the present world scene and its high growth prospects present economic ties between the PRC and Latin America are marginal: mutual trade flows and reciprocal investments remain at an extremely low level.
China’s economic reform and opening to the world: A retrospective and prospective view
Determinants of world manufacturing exports to China, 1990-2006
The WTO entry of China and its impact on the countries of the Caribbean Basin
The entry of China into the World Trade Organization if it takes place will unquestionably have a major impact on many nations. What is focused on here is the impact it would have on trade between the United States and the countries of the Caribbean Basin. The problems caused to the latter by Mexican membership of the North American Free Trade Agreement could be exacerbated by the shift of forces that would result from this new situation. The major expansion of textile and clothing exports from China to the United States that is in prospect would intensify the competition faced by the countries of the Basin and Mexico in that market. Nonetheless the recent expansion of the trade benefits granted by the United States to the Caribbean Basin which came into effect on 1 October 2000 gives a short respite (five years or so) in which these countries can seek to consolidate their exports particularly of wearing apparel. In the case of footwear increased trade between China and the United States could have adverse effects on the exports of the Dominican Republic to the United States market. As regards medical instruments Chinese exports would compete strongly with those of Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic in that same market.
El huésped no invitado del tlcan: China y la desintegración del comercio en América del Norte
En este trabajo se examina en qué medida el ingreso de China a la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC) en 2001 y el consiguiente aumento de las exportaciones mundiales afectaron a la composición del comercio entre los Estados Unidos de América y México hasta 2009. Los autores hallaron que el ingreso de China tuvo una gran repercusión en las relaciones comerciales entre esos dos países norteamericanos al reemplazar y desplazar a muchos de los baluartes de sus exportaciones que existían antes del ingreso chino a la OMC y después de la primera etapa del Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte (TLCAN) (1994-2000). Sobre la base de esta investigación los autores sugieren una variedad de opciones de políticas para revitalizar el comercio entre los Estados Unidos de América y México y cooperar con China en la economía mundial.
El “efecto China” en los precios de los productos básicos y en el valor de las exportaciones de América Latina
Entre los años 2002 y 2008 el auge de los precios de los productos básicos hizo que aumentaran notablemente los ingresos derivados de las exportaciones de América Latina en parte debido al incremento de la demanda china de esos productos. Se han estudiado exhaustivamente los efectos directos de las mayores exportaciones latinoamericanas a China pero el efecto indirecto de la acrecentada demanda china de los productos básicos en los precios mundiales ha recibido menos atención. Aquí se estima la contribución del crecimiento de dicha demanda al alza de los precios de los 15 principales productos básicos exportados desde la región. Estas estimaciones permiten calcular para toda la región la ganancia total en ingresos derivados de las exportaciones a raíz del “efecto China” en los precios mundiales. También se ofrecen cálculos de la repercusión neta de los incrementos de precios inducidos por China en las balanzas comerciales de 17 países latinoamericanos.
La búsqueda de China de recursos naturales en América Latina
Este artículo describe y analiza la búsqueda de China de recursos naturales en América Latina en particular petróleo hierro cobre y soja que representan más del 70% de las importaciones del país desde la región una búsqueda motivada por el crecimiento acelerado y la escasez relativa de recursos naturales en China y su planificación a largo plazo que atribuye a la región el papel de importante proveedora. En el caso del petróleo el acceso tiene lugar principalmente mediante financiamientos con contrapartidas de petróleo e inversiones directas mientras que en el del hierro y el cobre se obtiene mediante inversiones directas e importaciones. La manera elegida por China para garantizar la seguridad en el abastecimiento parece ser el control físico del recurso. En el caso de la soja el camino elegido ha sido la importación cada vez más intermediada por empresas mercantiles presentes en la región y recientemente adquiridas por China.
Efecto derrame del crecimiento de China en América del Sur: un análisis basado en el comercio internacional
Dado el aumento de la participación de China en la agenda comercial de América del Sur desde 2001 el crecimiento de aquel país adquirió una enorme importancia para las economías sudamericanas. Se procura analizar el efecto derrame del crecimiento de China en el crecimiento de las principales economías sudamericanas (Argentina Brasil Chile y Colombia) entre 1981 y 2014. Se analiza si el aumento de la participación china en la agenda comercial de estos países a partir de 2001 ha alterado dicho efecto. Este efecto es positivo si bien no se han producido cambios significativos al respecto. La expansión de las exportaciones de los sectores tradicionales de las economías sudamericanas (productos básicos) no resulta suficiente para ampliar las ganancias con el crecimiento de China. Se destaca la importancia de las políticas públicas que diversifiquen la cartera de exportaciones sudamericanas hacia China como los incentivos a las exportaciones de sectores no tradicionales.
NAFTA’S uninvited guest: China and the disintegration of North American trade
This paper examines the extent to which China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (wto) in 2001 and subsequent surge in global exports affected the composition of trade between the United States and Mexico through 2009. The authors found that China’s entry had a significant impact on the trade relations between these two North American countries replacing and displacing many of the export strongholds in place before China joined the wto and after the first stage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (nafta) (1994-2000). Based on this research the authors offer a variety of policy options for reinvigorating United States- Mexico trade and cooperating with China in the global economy.
The People’s Republic of China and Latin America: The impact of Chinese economic growth on Latin American exports
China’s quest for natural resources in Latin America
This article describes and analyses China’s pursuit of natural resources in Latin America particularly oil iron copper and soybeans which account for over 70% of its imports from the region. This is motivated by the rapid growth and relative scarcity of natural resources in China itself and the country’s long-term planning that sees the region as a major supplier. In the case of oil access occurs mainly through loans for oil and direct investments while in iron and copper it is obtained through direct investments and imports. The method chosen by China to guarantee supply security seems to involve physical control of the resource in question. In the case of soybeans the path chosen has involved imports increasingly intermediated by trading companies already present in the region which have recently been taken over by China.
The “China effect” on commodity prices and Latin American export earnings
The commodity boom between 2002 and 2008 played an important role in increasing export earnings from Latin America. Growing demand from China for primary products was one factor stimulating the boom. While the direct effects of the growth of exports from Latin America to China have been extensively explored the indirect impact of higher Chinese demand for commodities on global commodity prices has received less attention. This paper estimates the contribution made by the growth of Chinese demand to the rise in the prices of the 15 main commodities exported from the region. On the basis of these estimates it calculates the total gain for the region as a whole in export revenues from the “China effect” on world prices. It also provides estimates for 17 Latin American countries of the net effect of Chinese-induced price increases on their trade balances.
Socio-economic determinants of induced abortion in China
China which has the world’s largest population and the most stringent family planning programme has experienced one of the world’s most remarkable fertility declines. A number of censuses and surveys in China plus an extensive body of international studies have consistently documented and examined the rapid fertility transition in the country over the last 30 years (see for example Lin 1986; Peng1991; Hull and Yang 1991; Liu 1992; Gu 1994; Chen 1995; Zha 1996; Feeney 1994 and Yu 2000). Explanations of the Chinese fertility decline have concentrated on the dominant role of China’s family planning programme and to a lesser extent on social and economic development (see for example Birdsall and Jamison 1983; Poston and Gu 1987; Liu 1992; Peng and Huang 1993; Yang 1994 and Poston 2000). China’s family planning programme is directly related to changes in the proximate determinants of fertility and induced abortion is recognized as a major contributor to the fertility decline.
Recent fertility declines in China and India: A comparative view
China and India are the two most populous countries in the world and together they account for almost 38 per cent of the global population. China’s population has already crossed the 1.2 billion mark and India’s is expected to exceed 1 billion around the turn of the century. However in recent years the annual growth rate of the Chinese population has slowed down to about 1.1 per cent whereas in India it continues to be almost 2 per cent. The available evidence shows that China has experienced a large and remarkably rapid fertility transition in recent years whereas although fertility in India has also fallen the decline has been much smaller. Why has India not been as successful as China in achieving a fertility decline?
China’s international investment strategy by Julien Chaisse (editor)
Chinas international investment law and policy have been the subject of detailed study since the liberation endeavour of the late 1970s which was a landmark change in the countrys development path and integration into the global economy. The countrys active participation in the global economy is mirrored by its evolving profile of cross border capital flows with China both a prominent source of and destination for foreign investment. Indeed Chinas rise as a global investor has made its approach to international investment an important issue on which a considerable amount of literature has already been published. The recent past has nevertheless seen several important events within China as well as bilateral regional and global events influencing Chinas approach towards international investment and adding new perspectives thereto.