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Child Labor, Urban Proximity and Household Composition

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Author Info
Marcel Fafchamps () (University of Oxford)
Jackline Wahba () (University of Southampton and IZA Bonn)

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Abstract

Using detailed survey data from Nepal, this paper examines the determinants of child labor with a special emphasis on urban proximity. We find that children residing in or near urban centers attend school more and work less in total but are more likely to be involved in wage work or in a small business. The larger the urban center, the stronger the effect is. Urban proximity is found to reduce the workload of children and improve school attendance up to 3 hours of travel time from the city. In areas of commercialized agriculture located 3 to 7 hours from the city, children do more farm work. Urban proximity effects are accounted for by a combination of local labor supply and demand conditions, most notably the local importance of agriculture, the education level of the parents, and the local wage rate. Child servants, which represent a small proportion of all children, work much harder than other children and appear particularly at risk.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 1966.

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Length: 50 pages
Date of creation: Feb 2006
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1966

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Related research
Keywords: child labour; Nepal; child schooling; urban proximity;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J40 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - General
N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Income, and Wealth - - - Asia including Middle East

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References listed on IDEAS
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. Marcel Fafchamps & Agnes R. Quisumbing, 2003. "Social roles, human capital, and the intrahousehold division of labor: evidence from Pakistan," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 55(1), pages 36-80, January.
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  2. Saqib Jafarey & Sajal Lahiri, 1999. "Will trade sanctions reduce child labour? The role of credit markets," Economics Discussion Papers 500, University of Essex, Department of Economics.
    Other versions:
  3. Patrick M. Emerson & Andre Portela Souza, 2002. "Birth Order, Child Labor and School Attendance in Brazil," Working Papers 0212, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Jacoby, Hanan G., 1998. "Access to markets and the benefits of rural roads," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2028, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Edmonds, Eric V. & Pavcnik, Nina, 2005. "The effect of trade liberalization on child labor," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 401-419, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Richard Akresh, 2005. "Risk, Network Quality, and Family Structure: Child Fostering Decisions in Burkina Faso," Working Papers 902, Economic Growth Center, Yale University. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Basu, Kaushik & Van, Pham Hoang, 1998. "The Economics of Child Labor," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 412-27, June.
  8. Rosenzweig, Mark R. & Paul Schultz, T., 1987. "Fertility and investments in human capital : Estimates of the consequence of imperfect fertility control in Malaysia," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-2), pages 163-184. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Gronau, Reuben, 1977. "Leisure, Home Production, and Work-The Theory of the Allocation of Time Revisited," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(6), pages 1099-1123, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Basu, Kaushik & Tzannatos, Zafiris, 2003. "The Global Child Labor Problem: What Do We Know and What Can We Do?," Working Papers 03-06, Cornell University, Center for Analytic Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Basu, Kaushik & Ray, Ranjan, 2002. "The collective model of the household and an unexpected implication for child labor : hypothesis and an empirical test," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2813, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  12. Geeta Kingdon, 2004. "Where has all the bias gone? Detecting gender-bias in the household allocation of educational expenditure," Development and Comp Systems 0409037, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  13. Wolpin, Kenneth I, 1984. "An Estimable Dynamic Stochastic Model of Fertility and Child Mortality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(5), pages 852-74, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Marcel Fafchamps & Agnes R. Quisumbing, . "Human Capital, Productivity, and Labor Allocation in Rural Pakistan," Working Papers 97019, Stanford University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  15. Angus Deaton & Christina Paxson, 1998. "Economies of Scale, Household Size, and the Demand for Food," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(5), pages 897-930, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  16. Gary S. Becker & Kevin M. Murphy & Robert F. Tamura, 1990. "Human Capital, Fertility, and Economic Growth," NBER Working Papers 3414, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Eric V. Edmonds, 2007. "Child Labor," IZA Discussion Papers 2606, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  18. Anne Case & Christina Paxson & Joseph Ableidinger, 2002. "Orphans in Africa," NBER Working Papers 9213, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Yang, Dennis, 1995. "Education and Off-Farm Work," Working Papers 95-09, Duke University, Department of Economics.
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  20. Marcel Fafchamps & Forhad Shilpi, 2003. "Cities and Specialization: Evidence from South Asia," Economics Series Working Papers 139, University of Oxford, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  21. Rosenzweig, Mark R & Evenson, Robert E, 1977. "Fertility, Schooling, and the Economic Contribution of Children in Rural India: An Econometric Analysis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 45(5), pages 1065-79, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  22. Masahisa Fujita & Paul Krugman & Anthony J. Venables, 2001. "The Spatial Economy: Cities, Regions, and International Trade," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262561476.
  23. Ashish Garg & Jonathan Morduch, 1998. "Sibling rivalry and the gender gap: Evidence from child health outcomes in Ghana," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 471-493. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  24. Key, Nigel & Sadoulet, Elisabeth & de Janvry, Alain, 2000. " Transactions Costs and Agricultural Household Supply Response," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, American Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 82(2), pages 245-59, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  25. Cigno, Alessandro & Rosati, Furio C. & Guarcello, Lorenzo, 2002. "Does Globalisation Increase Child Labour?," IZA Discussion Papers 470, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  26. Fafchamps, Marcel & Shilpi, Forhad, 2002. "The spatial division of labor in Nepal," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2845, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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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. Helene Bie Lilleør, 2008. "Can Future Uncertainty Keep Children Out of School?," CAM Working Papers 2008-06, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Centre for Applied Microeconometrics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Edmonds, Eric V. & Schady, Norbert, 2008. "Poverty alleviation and child labor," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4702, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Helene Bie Lilleør, 2008. "Human Capital Diversification within the Household: Findings from Rural Tanzania," CAM Working Papers 2008-04, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Centre for Applied Microeconometrics. [Downloadable!]
  4. Gibson, John & McKenzie, David, 2007. "Using the global positioning system in household surveys for better economics and better policy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4195, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  5. Richard Akresh, 2004. "Adjusting Household Structure: School Enrollment Impacts of Child Fostering in Burkina Faso," Working Papers 897, Economic Growth Center, Yale University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. John Gibson & David McKenzie, 2007. "Using the Global Positioning System (GPS) in Household Surveys For Better Economics and Better Policy," Working Papers in Economics 07/04, University of Waikato, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  7. Akresh, Richard, 2005. "Risk, Network Quality, and Family Structure: Child Fostering Decisions in Burkina Faso," IZA Discussion Papers 1471, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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