Population and the Economy: The Ups and Downs of One and Two

On 1 January 2016, the Chinese government formally abolished the One-Child Policy, replacing it with a Two-Child Policy. This decision ended three and a half decades of the strictest form of population control the world has ever seen. It did not end population control altogether. Many commentators were quick to denounce the new policy as �too little too late�. They emphasised the enormous costs of the One-Child Policy, including rapid ageing of the population, rising gender imbalances, and the emotional, physical, and material costs borne by all of the people who (willingly or unwillingly) complied with the rules, and all those who didn�t. They further criticised the Chinese government for its insistence on remaining in control, rather than letting go, of family planning altogether and giving Chinese couples the full freedom to determine their own family size.