The unsustainable policy choice: China's dilemma of rapid population ageing

Anyone following trends in international business and economics is aware of the rise of China as an economic giant. As a part of its development strategy China, in the late 1970s, adopted a strict birthing policy to curb population growth. This has resulted in China having become an ageing society. In this thesis a case study of China's political economy was used to try and explain in what way rapid population ageing will affect the country's ability to develop. The results show that overall China's development policies have not been considerate enough of their potential long term effect. Although ageing is only one of many interconnected challenges that China is currently facing it is clear that it can put serious strain on future development. The dependency ratio (the ratio of working people to each retiree) is falling and due to the primitive pension system and lack of structure to deal with old age care many senior citizens, especially in the rural areas are forced to live in abject poverty. Further threats of a population decline and with it a shrinking labour force are imminent