Obstetric Care Services and the One-Child Policy: The Economic Consequences and Choices Pregnant Women Face in China

Doherty, Jim Patrick. (1998). Obstetric Care Services and the One-Child Policy: The Economic Consequences and Choices Pregnant Women Face in China. Master's thesis / Doctoral dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Citation:

Doherty, Jim Patrick. (1998). Obstetric Care Services and the One-Child Policy: The Economic Consequences and Choices Pregnant Women Face in China. Master's thesis / Doctoral dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Abstract:

This study models the demand for obstetric services in China, using a theoretical utility maximization framework developed from the field of microeconomics. The effect of China's family planning policy (commonly referred to as the "one-child policy") on the utilization of obstetric services is the focus of this study. A theoretical demand model, which includes the financial costs of health services, would predict that higher costs may lead to reduced consumption of those services if the services are price elastic. The one-child policy imposes higher costs for obstetric care services on women whose pregnancies are outside of the one-child policy and, therefore, may lead to a reduced likelihood of its utilization among these women. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, a stratified sample of households, this analysis utilizes a set of econometric models to identify the statistically significant determinants of demand for obstetric services. In particular, it measures the effect of both higher obstetric service prices as well as fines associated with births considered unapproved according to local family planning official guidelines. The results of this study indicate that unapproved pregnancies are less likely to receive obstetric care services, which in part is due to the potential imposition of fines, and in part is due to unobserved social and other economic costs of the one-child policy. Because this thesis found that the one-child policy imposes social and economic costs on women which cause them to forego important obstetric care services at modern medical facilities, an alternative to the one-child policy, which still achieve the government's population size goals while not imposing such a burden on women should be taken into consideration. The results of this study also indicate that the price for obstetric care services is relatively inelastic. As a result, user fees as a means for financing obstetric care services should be considered for China. The imposition of user fees should not be associated with a decrease in the use of these important services.

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Reference Type:
THES

Secondary Title:

Series Title:

Author(s):
Doherty, Jim Patrick

Editor(s):

Series Author(s):
Veney, James E.

Year Published:
1998

Date Published:

Journal Name:

Volume Number:
9840905

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Start Page Number:
86-86 p.

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Publisher:
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

City of Publication:
Ann Arbor

ISSN/ISBN:
9780591948462; 059194846X

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Reference ID:
1925

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