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Opportunity, Inequality and the Intergenerational Transmission of Child Labour

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  • PATRICK M. EMERSON
  • SHAWN D. KNABB

Abstract

This paper presents a model in which opportunity differences within society result in child labour, where ‘opportunity’ is broadly defined but can include school quality, access to higher paying jobs, access to information about the returns to education and actual discrimination. If opportunity differences exist, child labour and poverty are shown to be symptomatic of this underlying socioeconomic condition. It is then shown that policies that ban child labour and/or introduce compulsory education laws can actually reduce dynastic welfare, increase poverty and further exacerbate income inequality within society, because they treat the symptom rather than the disease: the lack of opportunity.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrick M. Emerson & Shawn D. Knabb, 2006. "Opportunity, Inequality and the Intergenerational Transmission of Child Labour," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 73(291), pages 413-434, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:econom:v:73:y:2006:i:291:p:413-434
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0335.2006.00507.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bourguignon, Francois & Ferreira, Francisco H. G. & Leite, Phillippe G., 2002. "Ex-ante evaluation of conditional cash transfer programs: the case of bolsa escola," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2916, The World Bank.
    2. Eric V. Edmonds, 2004. "Does Illiquidity Alter Child Labor and Schooling Decisions? Evidence from Household Responses to Anticipated Cash Transfers in South Africa," NBER Working Papers 10265, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Patrick M. Emerson & Shawn D. Knabb, 2013. "Bounded rationality, expectations, and child labour," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(3), pages 900-927, August.
    2. Fabre, Alice & Pallage, Stéphane, 2015. "Child labor, idiosyncratic shocks, and social policy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 394-411.
    3. Christophe J. Nordman & Smriti Sharma & Naveen Sunder, 2022. "Here Comes the Rain Again: Productivity Shocks, Educational Investments, and Child Work," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70(3), pages 1041-1063.
    4. Patrick M. Emerson & Shawn D. Knabb, 2007. "Fiscal Policy, Expectation Traps, And Child Labor," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 45(3), pages 453-469, July.
    5. Caio Piza & André Portela Souza & Patrick M Emerson & Vivian Amorim, 2024. "The Short- and Longer-Term Effects of a Child Labor Ban," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 38(2), pages 351-370.
    6. Lubna Naz & Abdul Salam Lodhi & Daniel W. Tsegai, 2020. "Parents’ Perception of Education and Choice of Childhood Activities: Evidence from Pakistan," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 59(3), pages 335-355.
    7. Heather Congdon Fors, 2012. "Child Labour: A Review Of Recent Theory And Evidence With Policy Implications," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 570-593, September.
    8. Kamalika Chakraborty & Bidisha Chakraborty, 2018. "Low level equilibrium trap, unemployment, efficiency of education system, child labour and human capital formation," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 125(1), pages 69-95, September.
    9. Kitaura, Koji & Miyazawa, Kazutoshi, 2021. "Inequality and conditionality in cash transfers: Demographic transition and economic development," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 276-287.
    10. Congdon Fors, Heather, 2024. "Child Labour Background, Challenges, and the Role of Research in Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 8.7," Working Papers in Economics 840, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    11. L. Guarcello & S. Lyon, 2003. "Children's work and water access in Yemen," UCW Working Paper 53, Understanding Children's Work (UCW Programme).
    12. Emerson, Patrick M. & Souza, André Portela, 2008. "Birth Order, Child Labor, and School Attendance in Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 1647-1664, September.
    13. Karina Acevedo González & Raúl Quejada Pérez & Martha Yánez Contreras, 2011. "Determinantes y consecuencias del trabajo infantil: un análisis de la literatura," Revista Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, June.
    14. Busquet, Milande & Bosma, Niels & Hummels, Harry, 2021. "A multidimensional perspective on child labor in the value chain: The case of the cocoa value chain in West Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    15. Lodhi, Abdul Salam & Tsegai, Daniel W. & Gerber, Nicolas, 2011. "Determinants of participation in child’s education and alternative activities in Pakistan," Discussion Papers 119110, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    16. Roos Haer & Gudrun Østby, 2023. "Aiding education? The effect of international aid on local educational enrolment in Nigeria," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-103, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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