Letters | Fewer newborns in China may point to a more humane future
Readers discuss why a shrinking population is not a policy failure, and the bottled water procurement scandal
First, one of the core reasons young Chinese people hesitate to have children is not simply money but time.
Second, policies designed to stimulate childbirth are likely to have limited effects. Low fertility reflects a deeper issue: the uncertainty and insecurity felt by an emerging urban middle class about its future. When housing, education, healthcare and retirement remain long-term concerns, one-off subsidies or symbolic incentives rarely change family decisions. What may matter more is the creation of stable, long-term investment opportunities and predictable returns that help households regain confidence in the future. Fertility, after all, is closely tied to people’s expectations.
Third – and perhaps most controversially – fewer babies may not be a bad thing at all.