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Compulsory Schooling Laws and the Cure for Child Labour

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  • Giorgio Bellettini
  • Carlotta Berti Ceroni

Abstract

This paper provides an explanation for the existence of child labour which relies on the imperfect enforcement of compulsory schooling laws. In the presence of complementarities in the production of human capital that justify legislative intervention, mandatory measures ensure that coordination failures are solved so that all parents send their children to school and the socially optimal equilibrium is reached. However, if enforcement of legislation is too low, multiple equilibria emerge. In this case, compulsory schooling laws may have adverse welfare effects on all households.

Suggested Citation

  • Giorgio Bellettini & Carlotta Berti Ceroni, 2004. "Compulsory Schooling Laws and the Cure for Child Labour," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 227-239, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:buecrs:v:56:y:2004:i:3:p:227-239
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8586.2004.00199.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dessy, Sylvain E. & Pallage, Stephane, 2001. "Child labor and coordination failures," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 469-476, August.
    2. Basu, Kaushik & Van, Pham Hoang, 1998. "The Economics of Child Labor," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 412-427, June.
    3. Kaushik Basu, 1999. "Child Labor: Cause, Consequence, and Cure, with Remarks on International Labor Standards," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(3), pages 1083-1119, September.
    4. Moretti, Enrico, 2004. "Estimating the social return to higher education: evidence from longitudinal and repeated cross-sectional data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 175-212.
    5. Sylvain E. Dessy & Désiré Vencatachellum, 2003. "Explaining cross-country differences in policy response to child labour," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 36(1), pages 1-20, February.
    6. Dessy, Sylvain E., 2000. "A defense of compulsive measures against child labor," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 261-275, June.
    7. Joshua D. Angrist & Alan B. Keueger, 1991. "Does Compulsory School Attendance Affect Schooling and Earnings?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(4), pages 979-1014.
    8. Moehling, Carolyn M., 1999. "State Child Labor Laws and the Decline of Child Labor," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 72-106, January.
    9. Landes, William M. & Solmon, Lewis C., 1972. "Compulsory Schooling Legislation: An Economic Analysis of Law and Social Change in the Nineteenth Century," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(1), pages 54-91, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Giorgio Bellettini & Carlotta Berti Ceroni & Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano, 2005. "Child Labour and Resistance to Change," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 72(287), pages 397-411, August.
    2. Damien Murphy, 2008. "Eliminating Child Labour Through Education: The Potential for Replicating the Work of the MV Foundation in India," Working Papers id:1746, eSocialSciences.
    3. Ã lvaro Choi, 2023. "The Impact of Compulsory Schooling Expansion on Educational Outcomes: The Case of Indonesia," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2023/452, University of Barcelona School of Economics.

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