CHINA’S PENSION CRISIS: SYSTEM REFORMS START WITH RELAXATION OF ONE-CHILD POLICY

Abstract

China’s one-child policy (“OCP”) exacerbates the existing weaknesses within the country’s pension system.1 This strict family planning measure is the root cause of sub-replacement fertility and rising dependency ratios within the country. Consequently, the one-child policy should not coexist with the nation’s currently under-funded retirement security program. In order to avert an impending financial and social crisis, the Chinese government should immediately confront the issue of pension reform. However, designs to improve the retirement security framework cannot be successfully instituted unless, as an initial step, the one-child policy is relaxed. The focal point of this paper delves into the impracticality of the one-child policy in relation to China’s pension reform efforts.

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Higher Education Press and Thomson Reuters