On the basis of the findings of 227 surveys of Chinese fertility intentions over the years 1980-2011, this paper investigates the longitudinal changes in fertility intentions through cross-temporal meta-analysis. It i...On the basis of the findings of 227 surveys of Chinese fertility intentions over the years 1980-2011, this paper investigates the longitudinal changes in fertility intentions through cross-temporal meta-analysis. It is found that the ideal number of children for the Chinese trended downwards from 1980, but since 2000 the average number has remained basically stable at 1.6 to 1.8. In the 1980s, people＇s fertility levels were higher than their fertility intentions. With economic and educational progress in China, both fertility levels and fertility intentions showed a downward trend, with the former declining faster than the latter. Since 1990, people＇s fertility levels have been lower than their fertility intentions; that is, their actual number of children has been less than their ideal number. This provides an empirical basis for examining the changes in China＇s fertility intentions and fertility levels.展开更多
This paper uses a cross-temporal meta-analysis to summarize information about the ideal number of children,gender composition,and timing of childbirths during the years 1980-2015 in China.This allows a comparison betw...This paper uses a cross-temporal meta-analysis to summarize information about the ideal number of children,gender composition,and timing of childbirths during the years 1980-2015 in China.This allows a comparison between ideas about the ideal number of children and actual childbearing behavior.The results show that fertility and the ideal number of children both decreased,but that fertility was higher than the ideal number of children before 1990,and that fertility was lower than the ideal number of children thereafter.Gender preference weakened;however,the preference for sons decreased slowly.The timing of childbearing became significantly later over the study period,while the ideal age of childbearing remained relatively stable.The findings provide evidence to aid understanding of the changes in childbearing in China.展开更多
基金supported by the Social Research and Database Construction Project of CentralUniversity of Finance and Economicsthe National Social Sciences Fund(Project No.:14CRK011)
文摘On the basis of the findings of 227 surveys of Chinese fertility intentions over the years 1980-2011, this paper investigates the longitudinal changes in fertility intentions through cross-temporal meta-analysis. It is found that the ideal number of children for the Chinese trended downwards from 1980, but since 2000 the average number has remained basically stable at 1.6 to 1.8. In the 1980s, people＇s fertility levels were higher than their fertility intentions. With economic and educational progress in China, both fertility levels and fertility intentions showed a downward trend, with the former declining faster than the latter. Since 1990, people＇s fertility levels have been lower than their fertility intentions; that is, their actual number of children has been less than their ideal number. This provides an empirical basis for examining the changes in China＇s fertility intentions and fertility levels.
基金This research was supported by 2015 The National Social Sciences Fund of China(15CRK008):“Study on the causes and influencing mechanism of the inconsistency between Ideal and actual childbearing in China”.
文摘This paper uses a cross-temporal meta-analysis to summarize information about the ideal number of children,gender composition,and timing of childbirths during the years 1980-2015 in China.This allows a comparison between ideas about the ideal number of children and actual childbearing behavior.The results show that fertility and the ideal number of children both decreased,but that fertility was higher than the ideal number of children before 1990,and that fertility was lower than the ideal number of children thereafter.Gender preference weakened;however,the preference for sons decreased slowly.The timing of childbearing became significantly later over the study period,while the ideal age of childbearing remained relatively stable.The findings provide evidence to aid understanding of the changes in childbearing in China.
