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.