Evidence of dysgenic fertility in China

• Evidence of dysgenic fertility in China for both intelligence and educational attainment was found.
• The strength of recent selection against intelligence rose between the 1960s and the mid-1980s.
• The estimated decline owing to dysgenic fertility came out to .31 points per decade between 1986 and 2000.

The relationship between fertility, intelligence, and education was examined in China using a large sample sourced from the population-representative China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) dataset. For the 1951–1970 birth cohort, the correlation between fertility and gf was −.10. The strength of recent selection against gf in China substantially increased between the 1960s and the mid-1980s. Later (between 1986 and 2000), the speed of decline in gf due to selection stabilized at about .31 points per decade with a slightly downward trend. The total loss from 1971 to 2000 due to dysgenic fertility is estimated to be .75 points. A negative relationship between educational attainment and fertility was additionally found. Both negative relations were stronger for women.