The Impact of Maternity Benefit Policies on Women’s Willingness to Have a Second Child in Shanghai

In 2016, the two-child policy began to be implemented in China. And a maternity welfare policy was introduced at the same time to encourage women to have a second child. As Shanghai is an important city in China, it is essential to study women’s fertility intentions in Shanghai. The analysis of the impact of the fertility welfare policy can also be used as suggestive evidence of policy development. This dissertation analyses the impact of Shanghai’s fertility welfare policy on women’s fertility intentions to have a second children explores how to improve women’s fertility intentions and help implement the comprehensive two-child policy. The analysis found that each of the maternity benefit policies increased the willingness of some women in Shanghai to have a second child. However, some policies do not cover specific aspects that affect the willingness of some women to have a second child. It is recommended that these policies should be improved to increase the willingness of Shanghai women and geriatric mothers to have a second child so that the comprehensive two-child policy can be implemented more effectively.