ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the impact that the no 'child policy' and the 'one-child policy' have had on the status of women in India and China. It considers the mixed effects of three key aspects of free markets on women: privatisation, mismatch between economic development and social development, and the use of technology. The original goal of the one-child policy was to 'restrain China's fast population growth so that the potential fruits of economic growth would not be offset by the immense demands of extra populations', the policy has also had some unintended effects on sex ratio. In the case of China, it is by and large uncontroversial that the one-child policy has contributed significantly to the gender imbalance because of sex-selective abortions. The Union Health Minster of India in 2012 warned that gender imbalance through sex-selective abortions can lead to increased violence against women, including more rapes and abductions.
