Question

Suppose a refugee leaves North Korea because one of their family members has been put into a "reeducation" camp, and they fear they will be placed into a camp as well.

​What type of migration factor is this?

A. 

Environmental

B. 

Economic

C. 

Social

D. 

Political

Chinese fertility rate

Even before its inception, the one child policy was questioned for its necessity and its enormous social costs. At the time of the policy’s announcement [in 1980], China had already achieved a remarkable fertility reduction, halving the number of children per woman from 5.8 in 1970 to 2.7 in 1979. The one child policy, critics warned, would forcefully alter kin relations for Chinese families, and result in accelerated aging.… To enforce a policy that is so extreme and unpopular for families who relied on children for labor and old age support, physical abuses and violence would be inevitable.…

China’s one child policy may have hastened a fertility decline that was already well in progress, but it is not the main force accounting for China’s low fertility today. The claim by Chinese officials that the one child policy has helped avert 400 million births simply cannot be substantiated by facts. Most of China’s fertility decline occurred prior to the one child policy. In countries without a forceful and costly policy as China’s, birth rate has declined with similar trajectories and magnitude.



Multiple Choice Question

In the second paragraph and in the chart below it, how do the authors use comparative fertility rates to argue that China’s one-child policy may have been unnecessary?

A. 

The authors compare China’s fertility rate with rates in Brazil, South Korea, and Thai- land. These countries did not impose birth control policies, and yet all three saw fertil- ity rates fall dramatically—China’s rates would have fallen also without the one-child policy

B. 

the author measures the number of children the average woman has in her lifetime

C. 

The authors compare China’s fertility rate with rates in America. This country did not impose birth control policies, and yet saw fertilty rates rise dramatically—China’s rates would have risen also without the one-child policy.

D. 

The authors mention the social costs, physical abuses, and violence that resulted from this policy.

Answer 1

1) D. Political — fear of reeducation camps is political persecution/pressure.

2) A. — the authors compare China’s decline to countries (e.g., Brazil, South Korea, Thailand) that experienced similar fertility declines without a forceful one-child policy, implying the policy may have been unnecessary.