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Is Child Work Necessary?

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Author Info
Sonia Bhalotra ()

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Abstract

This paper investigates the hypothesis that child labour is compelled by poverty or that the child's income contribution is needed by the household in order to meet subsistence expenditures. We show that a testable implication of this hypothesis is that the wage elasticity of child labour supply is negative. Using a large household survey for rural Pakistan, labour supply models for boys and girls in wage work are estimated. Conditioning on non-labour income and a range of demographic variables, we identify a negative wage elasticity for boys and an elasticity that is insignificantly different from zero for girls. Thus while the evidence is consistent with boys working on account of poverty compulsions, the evidence is ambiguous in the case of girls. The results are argued to be of interest to recent theoretical and policy developments in this area.

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Paper provided by Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK in its series Bristol Economics Discussion Papers with number 03/554.

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Length: 39 pages
Date of creation: Aug 2003
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Handle: RePEc:bri:uobdis:03/554

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Related research
Keywords: child labour; education; poverty; gender; labour supply;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
O12 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Ana C. Dammert, 2007. "Child Labor and Schooling Response to Changes in Coca Production in Rural Peru," IZA Discussion Papers 2869, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. François Bourguignon & Francisco H. G. Ferreira & Phillippe G. Leite, 2002. "Ex-ante Evaluation of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: The Case of Bolsa Escola," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 516, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Khanam, Rasheda & Ross, Russell, 2005. "Impact of Child Labour on School Attendance and School Attainment: Evidence from Bangladesh
    [Child Work and Other Determinants of School Attendance and School Attainment in Bangladesh]
    ," MPRA Paper 9397, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Apr 2008. [Downloadable!]
  4. Jackline Wahba, 2006. "The influence of market wages and parental history on child labour and schooling in Egypt," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 823-852, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Sonia R Bhalotra & Chris Heady, 2000. "Child Farm Labour: Theory and Evidence," STICERD - Development Economics Papers 24, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  6. Wahba, J., . "The Influence of Market Wages and Parental History on Child Labour and Schooling in Egypt," Discussion Paper Series In Economics And Econometrics 0603, Economics Division, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton. [Downloadable!]
  7. Aldaba, Fernando T. & Lanzona, Leonardo & Tamangan, Ronald J., 2004. "A National Policy Study on Child Labour and Development in the Philippines," Discussion Papers DP 2004-15, Philippine Institute for Development Studies. [Downloadable!]
  8. Sonia Bhalotra, 2007. "Fatal Fluctuations? - Cyclicality in Infant Mortality in India," The Centre for Market and Public Organisation 07/181, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Strulik, Holger, 2008. "The Role of Poverty and Community Norms in Child Labor and Schooling Decisions," Diskussionspapiere der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Hannover dp-383, Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät. [Downloadable!]
  10. Sarbajit Chaudhuri & Manash Ranjan Gupta, 2005. "Child Labour And Trade Liberalization In A Developing Economy," Labor and Demography 0510017, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  11. Geoffrey Lancaster & Ranjan Ray, 2004. "Does Child Labour Affect School Attendance and School Performance?Multi Country Evidence on SIMPOC data," Econometric Society 2004 Australasian Meetings 68, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
  12. Pushkar Maitra & Ranjan Ray, 2000. "The Joint Estimation of Child Participation in Schooling and Employment: Comparative Evidence from Three Continents," ASARC Working Papers 2000-04, Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. Ersado, Lire, 2003. "Child Labor And Schooling Decisions In Urban And Rural Areas: Cross-Country Evidence," 2003 Annual meeting, July 27-30, Montreal, Canada 21924, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association). [Downloadable!]
  14. Boockmann, Bernhard, 2004. "The Effect of ILO Minimum Age Conventions on Child Labour and School Attendance," ZEW Discussion Papers 04-52, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  15. Jackline Wahba, 2005. "The Influence of Market Wages and Parental History on Child Labour and Schooling in Egypt," IZA Discussion Papers 1771, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  16. Benoit Dostie & Désiré Vencatachellum, 2004. "Compulsory and Voluntary Remittances: Evidence from Child Domestic Workers in Tunisia," Cahiers de recherche 04-04, HEC Montréal, Institut d'économie appliquée. [Downloadable!]
  17. Ersado, Lire, 2002. "Child labor and school decisions in urban and rural areas," FCND discussion papers 145, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  18. Sarbajit Chaudhuri, 2005. "Incidence Of Child Labour, Free Education Policy And Economic Liberalization In A Developing Economy," Labor and Demography 0511010, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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