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Do Old-Age Security Concerns Still Motivate Fertility in China?
Demographic changes in China are characterised by the dual challenges of fertility decline and population ageing. Bringing together these two trends, this talk examines the old-age security motive for fertility in contemporary China. The long-standing norm of yang’er fang lao (养儿防老) has traditionally encouraged individuals to have children, particularly sons, to secure their old age. With China’s socialist reform and post-socialist transitions, however, do people’s concerns about old-age security still motivate them to have children and fuel a preference for sons today? How does this motive relate to China’s latest three-child policy and its efforts at establishing an old-age welfare system? Drawing on large-scale analysis of nationally representative data spanning 2010–2023, Prof. Hu demonstrates how the future of fertility in China hangs in a delicate balance between the resilience of traditional family values, the individualisation of old-age care, and the country’s welfare reform.
Yang Hu is Associate Professor in Sociology at UCL Social Research Institute, University College London, where he also directs the MSc/MA programmes in Sociology. Yang is a member of the 2029 Research Excellence Framework (REF) Sub-Panel for Sociology. He is Co-director of the Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN) Early Career Fellowship Programme. Yang’s research examines family and work changes and inequalities in a global context. His recent work has been published in journals such as Nature Human Behaviour, Gender & Society, European Sociological Review, Journal of Marriage and Family, and Human Relations.
Date:
4 June 2026, 17:00
Venue:
Dickson Poon Building, Canterbury Road OX2 6LU
Venue Details:
Kin-ku Cheng Lecture Theatre (lower ground floor)
Speaker:
Professor Yang Hu (University College London)
Organising department:
Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Organisers:
Dr Mark Czeller (University of Oxford),
Dr Cheuk Yee Wai (University of Oxford),
Professor Tian Yuan Tan (University of Oxford),
Dr Bo-jiun Jing (University of Oxford),
Dr Zhe Wang (University of Oxford),
Dr Evelyn Chan (University of Oxford),
Professor Denise van der Kamp (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
information@chinese.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Dr Zhe Wang (University of Oxford)
Part of:
China Studies Seminar series
Booking required?:
Not required
Cost:
Free
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Clare Orchard
