As part of market reforms the Chinese government “decollectivized” agriculture, distributing use rights to land among village households. With a great deal more discretion over what they grow, peasants grow specialized crops for urban or semi-urban markets, often coordinating transportation to these markets.
Prof. Dr. Li Hanlin, Vice Director | Institute of Sociology, The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing China says:
China’s population is projected to increase from around 1.3 billion people in 2001 to about 1.5 billion in 2040. The proportion of those aged over 65 will increase from 7% of the population in 2000 to about 20% in 2040. Over the next 40 years China will have to deal with several problems as a result of the increasing population (urbanization, sustainable agriculture, environment, health). China also faces the important problems associated with the increasing proportion of elderly people, which is mainly due to decreasing fertility, though also decreasing mortality. Furthermore, the very old, those aged over 80, will increase from about 8 million to about 50 million. Matching this, there will be a decrease in the ratio of working-age people to support each elderly person from 5 to 1 to 3 to 1. This essentially means that each working individual will be obliged to pay more to support the elderly as, to date, a market-oriented social security system has not succeeded in replacing the old all-encompassing state-run system. Of course, a market-oriented system will also face similar problems.
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Eileen Otis | Stony Brook University says:
As part of market reforms the Chinese government “decollectivized” agriculture, distributing use rights to land among village households. With a great deal more discretion over what they grow, peasants grow specialized crops for urban or semi-urban markets, often coordinating transportation to these markets.
Prof. Dr. Li Hanlin, Vice Director | Institute of Sociology, The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing China says:
China’s population is projected to increase from around 1.3 billion people in 2001 to about 1.5 billion in 2040. The proportion of those aged over 65 will increase from 7% of the population in 2000 to about 20% in 2040. Over the next 40 years China will have to deal with several problems as a result of the increasing population (urbanization, sustainable agriculture, environment, health). China also faces the important problems associated with the increasing proportion of elderly people, which is mainly due to decreasing fertility, though also decreasing mortality. Furthermore, the very old, those aged over 80, will increase from about 8 million to about 50 million. Matching this, there will be a decrease in the ratio of working-age people to support each elderly person from 5 to 1 to 3 to 1. This essentially means that each working individual will be obliged to pay more to support the elderly as, to date, a market-oriented social security system has not succeeded in replacing the old all-encompassing state-run system. Of course, a market-oriented system will also face similar problems.
You must be a Rachel Tanur Memorial Prize applicant to submit an essay response.