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Demographic Consequences of Gender Discrimination in China: Simulation Analysis of Policy Options

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Abstract

The large number of missing females in China, a consequence of gender discrimination, is having and will continue to have a profound effect on the country’s population development. In this paper, we analyze the causes of this gender discrimination in terms of institutions, culture and, economy, and suggest public policies that might help eliminate gender discrimination. Using a population simulation model, we study the effect of public policies on the sex ratio at birth and excess female child mortality, and the effect of gender discrimination on China’s population development. We find that gender discrimination will decrease China’s population size, number of births, and working age population, accelerate population aging and exacerbate the male marriage squeeze. These results provide theoretical support for suggesting that the government enact and implement public policies aimed at eliminating gender discrimination.

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Acknowledgments

This work is jointly supported by the Key Project of National Social Science Foundation of China (08&ZD048, 09XSH005), Program for Chang Jiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in Universities of the Ministry of Education of China (IRT0855).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Population and Development Studies, School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, Shaanxi Province, China

    Quanbao Jiang & Shuzhuo Li

  2. Morrison Institute for Population and Resource Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Marcus W. Feldman

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  1. Quanbao Jiang
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  2. Shuzhuo Li
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  3. Marcus W. Feldman
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Correspondence to Shuzhuo Li.

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Jiang, Q., Li, S. & Feldman, M.W. Demographic Consequences of Gender Discrimination in China: Simulation Analysis of Policy Options. Popul Res Policy Rev 30, 619–638 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-011-9203-8

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