Page 45 - 5th APA Conference Program Book Final

Abstract

China’s post-Cultural-Revolution socioeconomic reform has generated a rapid economic growth. But it has also resulted in many
negative changes and undesirable consequences, in its early period in particular (e.g. the collapse of the nationwide medical
insurance programs, rising cost of medical treatments, and declining government contribution to the total health spending).
Despite the negative changes, China has not recorded an increase in the overall mortality for the national population. By 2018, its
life expectancy reached 76.6 years, considerably better than the world average and that recorded in many countries with similar
per capita GDP. This paper examines the following research questions. First how has China’s poverty alleviation program
contributed to the improvement of population health? Second, how has China strengthened access to basic health services during
a period when inequality in income and wealth has been significantly growing? Third, how have these progresses helped China
to avoid a major setback in improving population health and lowering mortality? This study provides clear evidence showing that
poverty alleviation and improving equality has strong positive impacts on mortality decline.

PS 3.3 Fertility Differentials

4:30 - 6:00pm Tuesday, 3rd August, 2021
Presentation Type LIVE Session
Moderator: Terence Hull , Agus Joko Pitoyo

472 Socioeconomic Differentials of Fertility in Korea: Period and Cohort Analysis

Yoon-Jeong SHIN
Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, Sejong, Korea, Republic of

Categories

3. Fertility, Fecundity, Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights

Abstract

Korea’s period total fertility rate has hovered under 1.3 for nearly 20 years. Using data from the Population Census
and Vital Statistics, this study analyzed fertility rates for different socioeconomic groups and explored the
implications of the prolonged low fertility phenomenon in Korean society. This study attempted to identify
differences in period and cohort total fertility rates of different socioeconomic groups by using the variables of
employment status, job type and education level. Overall, fertility rates were lower in groups with higher
educational attainment. However, with more sophisticated measures it was revealed that women with low
educational or occupational status showed lower fertility rates, especially for recent years. According to the result
of decomposition analysis, the recent changes in the total fertility rates were attributed to the decrease in fertility
rate rather than the change in the population composition. The group that contributed most to the decline in the
total fertility rate was found to be women with low educational attainment and/or low occupational status. These
results indicate that income effects are greater than opportunity cost effects in determining births in this period of
deepening inequalities in Korea.

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