History

Re: china, the market, and population

Stranger — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:43:22 GMT

When capital is controlled by the state, children are one of the few assets that one can accumulate.

In rich countries, the marginal value of children drops off much more quickly due the existence of alternative forms of wealth. Rich families will typically have no more than 2-3 children.

Re: china, the market, and population

Jonathan M. F. Catalán — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:41:37 GMT

fakename:

Why does and did china have such a huge population for such a statist economy? Their economy has always been intruded on by government and even more so than the western one in my opinion yet their population has always been exceedingly great when one would expect it to be declining -as in the declining population of the soviet union or europe.

I cannot fathom a single way this could happen and i know some stuff about china.

Higher population growth tends to exist in countries which suffer more poverty. I imagine that in China the primary industry, at the time, was agriculture, and here is where I have the most experience with this phenomenon. Large families allow division of labor on a farm, and so the larger the family the more productivity the family farm tends to have. This is why agricultural families tended to be large, while urban families tended to be smaller (you earned more in a factory, for the most part... agriculture can yield very poor net returns). This is why industrially rich nations, such as in Europe, have very low birth rates (or negative growth rates), while third world countries tend to have high birth rates. Declining growth rate in Europe has nothing to do with current socialist policies. It has everything to do with market liberalization after the Second World War. Population growth rates will increase in Europe as people become generally poorer.

Re: china, the market, and population

Jon Irenicus — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:20:30 GMT

Different priorities perhaps? One can keep people alive yet living at bare subsistence levels.

Re: china, the market, and population

fakename — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:16:47 GMT

well to both of the above responses thanks, but population during the han was already extensive even though statist measures on a major scale were undertaken like the population transfer of 700,000 people. This event alone had to have had huge effects on markets yet we hear of transfers of 100,000s of people that seem to be carried out smoothly without the slightest hint of market alteration or population decreases -the han empire reached a population of 57 million I believe.

Re: china, the market, and population

eliotn — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:13:27 GMT

I would also argue that China's huge population could be a part of culture. A son is viewed as important to have in a family, so that the family name could be passed on.

Keep in mind that now, the Chinese government is trying to use coercion to stunt population growth.

Re: china, the market, and population

BioTube — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:29:41 GMT

One of the dynasties(I think it was the Ming) made a concerted effort to expand the Chinese population as a form of protection against China's enemies(the reasoning being that a huge army would make her an unsavory target); today's population is the direct result of that effort.

china, the market, and population

fakename — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:46:31 GMT

Why does and did china have such a huge population for such a statist economy? Their economy has always been intruded on by government and even more so than the western one in my opinion yet their population has always been exceedingly great when one would expect it to be declining -as in the declining population of the soviet union or europe.

I cannot fathom a single way this could happen and i know some stuff about china.