Monday, February 26, 2007
[IWS] NBER: CHILD LABOR [February 2007]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Child Labor
http://papers.nber.org/papers/w12926.pdf
[full-text, 102 pages]
Eric V. Edmonds
NBER Working Paper No. 12926
Issued in February 2007
---- Abstract -----
http://papers.nber.org/papers/w12926
In recent years, there has been an astonishing proliferation of empirical work on child labor. An Econlit search of keywords "child lab*r" reveals a total of 6 peer reviewed journal articles between 1980 and 1990, 65 between 1990 and 2000, and 143 in the first five years of the present decade. The purpose of this essay is to provide a detailed overview of the state of the recent empirical literature on why and how children work as well as the consequences of that work. Section 1 defines terms commonly used in the study of child time allocation and provides a descriptive overview of how children spend their time in low income countries today. Section 2 reviews the case for attention to the most common types of work in which children participate, focusing on that work's impact on schooling, health, as well as externalities associated with that work. Section 3 considers the literature on the determinants of child time allocation such as the influence of local labor markets, family interactions, the net return to schooling, and poverty. Section 5 discusses the limited evidence on different policy options aimed at influencing child labor. Section 6 concludes by emphasizing important research questions requiring additional research such as child and parental agency, the effectiveness of child labor policies, and the determinants of participation in the "worst forms" of child labor.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 2
2. What is Child Labor? ............................................................................................................... 6
2.1 Terminology........................................................................................................................ 7
Market and domestic work...................................................................................................... 7
Child labor .............................................................................................................................. 8
Worst and hazardous forms of child labor ............................................................................. 9
2.2 Sources of Data.................................................................................................................. 10
Available data ....................................................................................................................... 10
Limitations of household surveys and missing children ....................................................... 11
Idle children .......................................................................................................................... 13
2.3 Background on the Activities of Working Children...................................................... 14
Types of activities.................................................................................................................. 14
Occupation and industry of economically active children.................................................... 16
Gender differences ................................................................................................................ 17
Urban –rural differences ..................................................................................................... 18
Age patterns .......................................................................................................................... 19
Worst forms of child labor .................................................................................................... 20
Are worst forms different? .................................................................................................... 22
3. The Case for Attention to Working Children ...................................................................... 22
3.1 Child Labor in International Policy................................................................................ 22
3.2 Work and Schooling ......................................................................................................... 23
Is schooling attendance lower for working children? .......................................................... 23
Is schooling achievement and attainment lower for working children?............................... 25
Is there a causal relationship between work and schooling achievement and attainment?. 26
Do changes in the price of schooling affect child labor supply?.......................................... 27
Modeling the joint determination of schooling and other time allocation decisions............ 28
Are there future consequences of working?.......................................................................... 29
3.3 Work and Health............................................................................................................... 30
Is the health status of working children worse? ................................................................... 30
Does child labor affect future adult health? ......................................................................... 31
3.4 Child Labor Externalities and General Equilibrium Considerations ......................... 32
Do working children support their siblings? ........................................................................ 32
Does child labor perpetuate across generations? ................................................................ 33
Does child labor promote high fertility? .............................................................................. 34
Does child labor affect local labor markets? ....................................................................... 35
4. Determinants of Child Time Allocation............................................................................... 37
4.1 Local Labor Markets and Child Labor .......................................................................... 38
Production technology .......................................................................................................... 38
Trade .................................................................................................................................... 40
2
4.2 Child Labor and the Family............................................................................................. 42
Who makes child labor decisions?........................................................................................ 42
Parental attitudes towards work and schooling ................................................................... 44
Child and Adult labor supply interactions............................................................................ 46
Does parental co-residence influence child labor? .............................................................. 48
How does sibling composition affect child labor?................................................................ 49
4.3 Child Labor and the (Net) Return to Schooling............................................................. 52
Credit constraints and child labor........................................................................................ 52
Does child labor respond to the return to schooling? .......................................................... 54
School costs and child labor ................................................................................................. 56
4.4 Child labor and Poverty ................................................................................................... 56
The link between child labor and living standards............................................................... 56
The empirical evidence ......................................................................................................... 57
Can the effect of rising incomes differ from that of declining poverty? ............................... 60
Economic shocks, credit constraints, poverty, and child labor ............................................ 61
5. Policy ...................................................................................................................................... 63
5.1 Child Labor Specific Programs ....................................................................................... 63
5.2 Restrictions and Prohibitions on Employment .............................................................. 65
5.3 Trade Sanctions and Labor Standards........................................................................... 67
5.4 Conditional Cash Transfers............................................................................................. 68
6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 69
Works Cited................................................................................................................................ 71
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Child Labor
http://papers.nber.org/papers/w12926.pdf
[full-text, 102 pages]
Eric V. Edmonds
NBER Working Paper No. 12926
Issued in February 2007
---- Abstract -----
http://papers.nber.org/papers/w12926
In recent years, there has been an astonishing proliferation of empirical work on child labor. An Econlit search of keywords "child lab*r" reveals a total of 6 peer reviewed journal articles between 1980 and 1990, 65 between 1990 and 2000, and 143 in the first five years of the present decade. The purpose of this essay is to provide a detailed overview of the state of the recent empirical literature on why and how children work as well as the consequences of that work. Section 1 defines terms commonly used in the study of child time allocation and provides a descriptive overview of how children spend their time in low income countries today. Section 2 reviews the case for attention to the most common types of work in which children participate, focusing on that work's impact on schooling, health, as well as externalities associated with that work. Section 3 considers the literature on the determinants of child time allocation such as the influence of local labor markets, family interactions, the net return to schooling, and poverty. Section 5 discusses the limited evidence on different policy options aimed at influencing child labor. Section 6 concludes by emphasizing important research questions requiring additional research such as child and parental agency, the effectiveness of child labor policies, and the determinants of participation in the "worst forms" of child labor.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 2
2. What is Child Labor? ............................................................................................................... 6
2.1 Terminology........................................................................................................................ 7
Market and domestic work...................................................................................................... 7
Child labor .............................................................................................................................. 8
Worst and hazardous forms of child labor ............................................................................. 9
2.2 Sources of Data.................................................................................................................. 10
Available data ....................................................................................................................... 10
Limitations of household surveys and missing children ....................................................... 11
Idle children .......................................................................................................................... 13
2.3 Background on the Activities of Working Children...................................................... 14
Types of activities.................................................................................................................. 14
Occupation and industry of economically active children.................................................... 16
Gender differences ................................................................................................................ 17
Urban –rural differences ..................................................................................................... 18
Age patterns .......................................................................................................................... 19
Worst forms of child labor .................................................................................................... 20
Are worst forms different? .................................................................................................... 22
3. The Case for Attention to Working Children ...................................................................... 22
3.1 Child Labor in International Policy................................................................................ 22
3.2 Work and Schooling ......................................................................................................... 23
Is schooling attendance lower for working children? .......................................................... 23
Is schooling achievement and attainment lower for working children?............................... 25
Is there a causal relationship between work and schooling achievement and attainment?. 26
Do changes in the price of schooling affect child labor supply?.......................................... 27
Modeling the joint determination of schooling and other time allocation decisions............ 28
Are there future consequences of working?.......................................................................... 29
3.3 Work and Health............................................................................................................... 30
Is the health status of working children worse? ................................................................... 30
Does child labor affect future adult health? ......................................................................... 31
3.4 Child Labor Externalities and General Equilibrium Considerations ......................... 32
Do working children support their siblings? ........................................................................ 32
Does child labor perpetuate across generations? ................................................................ 33
Does child labor promote high fertility? .............................................................................. 34
Does child labor affect local labor markets? ....................................................................... 35
4. Determinants of Child Time Allocation............................................................................... 37
4.1 Local Labor Markets and Child Labor .......................................................................... 38
Production technology .......................................................................................................... 38
Trade .................................................................................................................................... 40
2
4.2 Child Labor and the Family............................................................................................. 42
Who makes child labor decisions?........................................................................................ 42
Parental attitudes towards work and schooling ................................................................... 44
Child and Adult labor supply interactions............................................................................ 46
Does parental co-residence influence child labor? .............................................................. 48
How does sibling composition affect child labor?................................................................ 49
4.3 Child Labor and the (Net) Return to Schooling............................................................. 52
Credit constraints and child labor........................................................................................ 52
Does child labor respond to the return to schooling? .......................................................... 54
School costs and child labor ................................................................................................. 56
4.4 Child labor and Poverty ................................................................................................... 56
The link between child labor and living standards............................................................... 56
The empirical evidence ......................................................................................................... 57
Can the effect of rising incomes differ from that of declining poverty? ............................... 60
Economic shocks, credit constraints, poverty, and child labor ............................................ 61
5. Policy ...................................................................................................................................... 63
5.1 Child Labor Specific Programs ....................................................................................... 63
5.2 Restrictions and Prohibitions on Employment .............................................................. 65
5.3 Trade Sanctions and Labor Standards........................................................................... 67
5.4 Conditional Cash Transfers............................................................................................. 68
6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 69
Works Cited................................................................................................................................ 71
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 8:23 AM
