The relationship between population growth and economic development has long been a subject of academic debates. Views of the relationship between them vary from period to period and from scholar to scholar, but in general most scholars believe that population is a key variable that determines economic development. In terms of China’s development practices, China has implemented different population policies at different development stages in order to promote economic and social development. For example, in 1970s, China vigorously implemented the one-child policy, hoping to accelerate economic development through planned population control; in 2013, National Health and Family Planning Commission decided to introduce the adjusted scheme of improving the fertility policy at a proper time; since January 1, 2016, the two-child policy has been fully implemented in order to address population aging and other issues. The year of 2017 was the second year of full implementation of the two-child policy. According to previous judgments, there would be a lag in the effect of the two-child policy, which would gradually appear after 2017. As a result, the number of births in 2017 would be significantly higher than in 2016. However, according to the data published by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on January 18, 2018, the number of newborns in 2017 was 17.23 million, 630,000 fewer than that in 2016. The birth rate decreased from 12.95 ‰ in 2016 to 12.43 ‰ in 2017. Besides, the aging of the population continued to worsen, with a significant increase in elderly population aged over 60 and 65. This week, Professor Liu Zhibiao, Dean of Yangtze IDEI, held an small-scale roundtable discussion with relevant experts and scholars on the topic “Impact of Lower Birth Rate on the Future Economy and Society and Our Response”. They exchanged ideas on the reasons for the decline in the newborn population and the possible impact on the future economy and proposed relevant countermeasures.
