Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
State-owned enterprises can function as an instrument to enforce government policies. Using data from the China General Social Survey, we evaluate the role and effectiveness of state-owned enterprises in enforcing the one child policy and affecting people’s fertility decisions. The estimates show that the one child policy in China significantly reduced people’s fertility for those working in state-owned enterprises than in non-state-owned firms. The findings are not driven by different fertility desires or other confounding events such as the opening-up policy. Such insights have valuable implications for the enforcement of population policies around the globe.