The surprising ’balloon mania' of Romantic literature

A new study suggests that the 2013 reforms aimed at relaxing China's 'one-child policy' are likely to have little effect on the country's long-term demographic trends and the problem of China's shrinking workforce. It explores why China has only partially lifted its family planning restrictions, suggesting that local governments rely on the income from fines imposed on couples who violate the one-child policy, known as 'social maintenance fees'. It also argues that it is hard to dislodge the old system because of 'policy inertia' due to the vast family planning bureaucracy involved in implementing the one-child policy. The findings by the University of Oxford and Xi'an Jiaotong University are published in the journal, Studies in Family Planning . The report explores what effect the reforms have had on eligible couples, who since 2013 have been allowed to have a second baby if either parent is an only child. Official estimates suggest that the reforms will lead to an 'extra million births a year'. However, the report argues that even if this forecast is accurate, the projected rise would have very little effect in addressing the challenges of China's aging population and shrinking workforce.