Very Low Fertility in Taiwan: Causes, patterns, and solutions?
Yen-hsin Alice Cheng, Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, TAIWAN
This talk will first offer an overview of the very low fertility patterns in Taiwan, as well as situate it within the larger East Asian region. The causes leading to this phenomenon will be discussed with an emphasis on the Confucian culture and gender relations in Taiwan. In particular, how they influence declining marriage rate is key to future development of fertility levels, as non-marital births are still rare. The challenges ahead and the potential solutions will also be discussed to conclude this talk.
About the speaker:
Yen-hsin Alice Cheng is an Associate Research Fellow in the Institute of Sociology at Academia Sinica,National Academy of Science in Taipei, Taiwan. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Sociology and Demography from the Pennsylvania State University and is trained as a family demographer. She also spent two years at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany as a post-doctoral fellow and one year at L’Institut National d’Études Démographiques (INED) in France as a visiting scholar.
Her recent research investigates the socioeconomic differentials in marriage, divorce, childbearing intentions, and population aging over the past few decades in Taiwan. She also studies disadvantaged youths and families and tolerance toward homosexuality from a comparative perspective, as well as how public opinions on homosexuality have changed over the past few decades in Taiwan. Her latest work also includes research on low fertility and marriage decline phenomena in East Asia and an East-West comparative study to look at changing marriage age patterns over two centuries in Taiwan and Sweden.