China's demographic fatal conceit By Alberto Mingardi

In his book The Great Escape, Nobel laureate Angus Deaton (see here David’s excellent article) argues that

The misdiagnosis of the population explosion by the vast majority of social scientists and policy makers, and the grave harm that the resultant mistaken policy did to many millions, were among the most serious intellectual and ethical failures of a century in which there were many.

Two days ago China’s government announced it will relax the one-child policy, allowing families to have two. This is a very significant decision and will have a huge impact on the lives of millions. But, as Nick Eberstadt argues on The Wall Street Journal, the Chinese Communist Party has “no plans to relinquish authority over its subjects’ birth patterns; rather, Beijing has simply changed the ration. Now two children per family will be permitted”.

Eberstadt’s article is a must read. He digs into the unintended consequences of the one-child policy. Here’s a passage: