CHINA: IB CASE STUDIES

1. CHINA: IB CASE STUDIES

2. ANTINATAL POLICY

3. In 1979 they introduced a policy requiring couples from China's ethnic Han majority to have only one child (the law has largely exempted ethnic minorities). It has remained virtually the same ever since The goal of this policy was to keep China's population below 1.3 billion by the year 2000. (it is presently 1.2 billion). A spokesperson of the Committee on the One-Child Policy has said that approximately 35.9% of China's population is currently subject to the one-child restriction Contraception is widely practiced throughout China in order to reduce pregnancies and widen the spacing between births. In many cases the so-called one-child policy can be best stated today as "One is best, two at most, but never a third." While the one child policy is widely carried out in China's cities, it has been more flexibly enforced in rural areas and in those portions of the country heavily populated by ethnic minority groups. China has the largest discrepancy in boy to girl ratio worldwide. Whilst the natural ratio is 105-100, China has a ratio of over 120-100. According to some media outlets, around 100 million girls have not been born due to a policy that causes many parents to prefer male children. After rumors that the policy would end soon, the current government, lead by president Hu Jintao, recently announced that it will in fact remain in its current form until at least 2015, and possibly for longer. factories have reported youth-labor shortages in recent years, a problem that will only get worse. In 2007 there were six adults of working age for every retiree, but by 2040 that ratio is expected to drop to 2 to 1. Analysts fear that with too few children to care for them. Human trafficking has begun and has the potential to increase as there are less and less women that men can potentially marry.

4. POPULATION IN TRANSITION: AGEING POPULATION

5. Chinese women are having fewer children, but having a smaller generation follow a boom generation - and longer life expectancies - means that by 2050, it is expected that for every 100 people aged 20-64, there will be 45 people aged over 65, compared with about 15 today. Only children from single-child parents face what is known as the 4-2-1 phenomenon: when the child reaches working age, he or she could have to care for two parents and four grandparents in retirement. According to government figures, at the end of 2011, when the total Chinese population reached 1.34 billion, 13.7% of the population were 60 or over - that's 185 million people. China's unprecedented demographic transformation has been mainly caused by a significant increase in the country's life expectancy. People are living longer life thanks to significant improvements in living standards, including improved nutrition, access to education and medical care. Professor Cai Fang, a Chinese labour economist, estimates that the rapid decrease of the labour force will lower China's annual growth rate by 1.5 percentage points from now to 2015, and it will decrease a further percentage point during the period from 2016-2020. Life expectancy in China today rivals that in the West - it is one of this country's impressive advances. Except China has not yet built a social safety net to provide pensions, affordable healthcare or homes for all its elderly. It's ageing population has been described as like a fast-approaching tsunami. But China appears ill-prepared for the scale and cost of what is to come. there are six workers paying taxes for each retiree - in 20 years' time, there will be just two workers for every pensioner.

6. POPULATIONS IN TRANSITION: INTERNAL MIGRATION

7. In 2011 a total of 252.7 million migrant workers (an increase of 4.4% compared to 2010) existed in China. Out of these, migrant workers who left their hometown and worked in other provinces accounted for 158.63 million (an increase of 3.4% compared to 2010) and migrant workers who worked within their home provinces reached 94.15 million (an increase of 5.9% compared to 2010). China's government influences the pattern of urbanization through the Hukou permanent residence registration system, land-sale policies, infrastructure investment and the incentives offered to local government officials. Benefits: Increased supply of labour in urban areas, Increased income for the poor, Poverty reduction, Access to education opportunities for migrant workers, Access to diverse labour market for migrant workers, Migration can be a fun trip with many dangers along the way, like an adventure. Increased income remittance of Migrants to their families in rural regions. Migrant workers access to higher standards of living. Increase of new knowledge and skills for migrants, Migrant workers increase the local population creating demand for services Costs: Increased environmental degradation and pollution, Travelling costs a lot of money when compared to Chinese average income. Overpopulation in municipalities and sub provincial cities, Development of migrant suburbs with no access to local health care, education, workplace protection, Depopulation of rural regions as breadwinners go into the prosperous region, Increased crime and safety issues, Increased demand for resources such as water, electricity and sanitation Causes of Migration Poverty, Employment, Education, Religion, Regime, Standard of Living, Economic or Industrial Policies, Special Economic Zones / Sub Provincial Cities, political fears

8. GLOBAL INTERACTIONS: FINANCIAL FLOWS WEALTH & DISPARITIES: AID, FDI & TRADE

9. China has committed $75bn (£48bn) on aid and development projects in Africa in the past decade, according to research which reveals the scale of what some have called Beijing's escalating soft power "charm offensive" to secure political and economic clout on the continent. US researchers have launched the largest public database of Chinese development finance in Africa , detailing almost 1,700 projects in 50 countries between 2000 and 2011. China has also sent thousands of doctors and teachers to work in Africa, welcomed many more students to learn in China or in Chinese language classes abroad and rolled out a continent-wide network of sports stadiums and concert halls. Xi reconfirmed China’s commitment to provide another $20 billion in financing to Africa. China usually attaches a significant amount of such funding to infrastructure projects, which forms the foundation for Africa’s industrialization and economic development. dragon-slayers emphasize China’s selfish quest for African natural resources and how it sabotages international efforts to keep unpalatable African regimes in check. On the other hand, panda-huggers applaud China’s contribution to Africa’s economic development through infrastructure projects and revenue creation. Renewing an offer of US$20 billion (Dh73.4bn) of loans to Africa between 2013 and 2015, Mr Xi pledged to "help African countries turn resource endowment into development strength and achieve independent and sustainable development”.