China’s Population Dip May Have a Silver Lining

Without explanation, China’s National Bureau of Statistics has been holding back the results of the country’s most recent census, which were due last month. In the absence of official data, rumors have run rampant, including one — raised by many outside experts — that the government has only half-heartedly denied: China, long the world’s most populous country, may have undergone its first population decline in decades.

Experts have warned for years that such a scenario will reduce China’s productivity, inflate health-care costs and exacerbate social tensions. But there’s also a more hopeful possibility. Faced with a potential demographic death spiral, the government might finally embark on more humane policies to support struggling families — and help make China a more livable and equitable place in the process.