Research On Married Families Of Childbearing Age’s Three Child Fertility Intention And Supporting Policies In Shanghai

Since the founding of China more than 70 years,China’s fertility policy has undergone many changes,on May 31,2021,China again launched a heavyweight fertility policy "three-child policy",which is the country’s fertility policy after the "comprehensive two-child" policy in 2016.This is a further opening of the country’s fertility policy after the "comprehensive two-child" policy in 2016.As the results of the 7th National Census show that the total fertility rate of women of childbearing age in China is only 1.3,and there is a possibility of falling into the "low fertility trap",the introduction of the three-child policy aims to actively respond to the aging of fewer children and improve the fertility rate.However,the previous policies of "separate two-child" and "comprehensive two-child" fertility incentives have not achieved the expected results,and how to effectively stimulate the fertility of families of childbearing age in the face of the newly introduced three-child policy is an urgent issue to be resolved.Now,the three-child policy has been launched for two years.Based on the above,this study takes Shanghai as an example to understand the willingness of married families of childbearing age,the key target group of the three-child policy,to have three children and the factors influencing them,and to propose supporting policies to address the shortcomings and deficiencies in the implementation of the policy.The study provides references for the effective implementation of the "three-child policy".In this paper,based on extensive reading and analysis of the literature on "three-child policy","fertility intention" and "supporting policies",we conducted a questionnaire survey on married families of childbearing age in Shanghai.Based on extensive reading and analysis of the literature on the "three-child policy","fertility intention" and "supporting policies",I conducted a questionnaire survey on the willingness to have three children among married families of childbearing age in Shanghai,and selected 10 childbearing-age subjects for in-depth interviews.The results of the study showed that the three-child policy did not significantly stimulate the willingness of the childbearing age group to have three children one year after its introduction.In terms of the factors influencing the intention to have three children,there is a significant difference between infertile and fertile families.The intention to have three children among infertile households is mainly influenced by whether they have a preference for more children,while other objective factors have little effect.This is not the case for fertile families,whose fertility intentions are influenced by more realistic factors such as whether they are only children,age at first birth,attitudes toward having children,number of children planned before the policy,and occupational influences.There are also some differences between one-child families and two-child families in their willingness to have three children,but the differences are not significant,mainly in the dimensions of occupation,education,and family income source.Meanwhile,in-depth interviews with existing two-child families revealed that the willingness of Shanghai families of childbearing age to have three children is generally low,with the main challenges coming from caregiving and financial pressure.In terms of fertility policies,research respondents generally prefer full liberalization,suggesting that the government could consider further returning the right to have children to the family.In terms of supporting policies,most childbearing age groups are optimistic that effective support measures for three children will help increase fertility intentions,with the highest demand for childcare education,female employment and financial subsidies.Based on the findings of the empirical analysis,this paper proposes supporting measures to strengthen policy propaganda and conceptual guidance,improve laws and regulations and sound institutional protection,and enhance social resource supply and economic support from three levels: cultural,policy and social.