Job Market Paper

The Impact of Fertility Restriction Relaxation on Mental Health: Evidence from China’s 

Universal Two-Child Policy [link] 

As an important aspect of human rights, reproductive autonomy is essential to people's well-being. However, despite the widespread presence of interventions in reproductive autonomy around the world, the effects of relaxing fertility restrictions on mental health have long been insufficiently studied and remain undetermined. This paper pioneers the exploration of the causal relationship between relaxing fertility restrictions and mental health by utilizing the implementation of China's Universal Two-Child Policy (UTCP) as a natural experiment. By adopting the Difference-in-Difference method and comparing cohorts that were exposed differently to the fertility restriction relaxation, this paper presents the first empirical evidence that the relaxation of fertility restrictions leads to significant improvements in the mental health of the general population, as evidenced by reductions in severe mental health issues and enhancements in overall health status. This paper further investigates the impacts of fertility restriction relaxations on the mental health outcomes of affected women, highlighting that women who benefited from the UTCP implementation experienced an increased frequency of restlessness but a reduction in hopelessness. Additionally, this paper examines the effects of fertility restrictions relaxation across different age cohorts and finds that the resulting mental health improvements are primarily concentrated among individuals aged 18 to 30. The findings reveal the profound impacts of fertility restrictions relaxation on mental health and underscore the importance of reproductive autonomy in promoting well-being.