China's One Child Policy was introduced in 1980 to control population growth. Official Chinese statistics report that the policy prevented 400 million births between 1980-2010, while independent scholars estimate a lower number of 100 million prevented births. The policy faced criticism over its methods and economic and social effects. Questions remain over how well statistics can inform government policy and the limitations of economic theories in determining policy.
19. “To what extent are statistics
sufficient to inform government
policy?”
“What are the limitations of
economic theories as a means to
determine government policy?”
