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Does minimum age of employment regulation reduce child labor?

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  • Eric V. Edmonds

    (Dartmouth College and NBER, USA, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

Regulation of the minimum age of employment is the dominant tool used to combat child labor globally. If enforced, these regulations can change the types of work in which children participate, but minimum age regulations are not a useful tool to promote education. Despite their nearly universal adoption, recent research for 59 developing countries finds little evidence that these regulations influence child time allocation in a meaningful way. Going forward, coordinating compulsory schooling laws and minimum age of employment regulations may help maximize the joint influence of these regulations on child time allocation, but these regulations should not be the focus of the global fight against child labor.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric V. Edmonds, 2014. "Does minimum age of employment regulation reduce child labor?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-73, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2014:n:73
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Olivier Bargain & Delphine Boutin, 2021. "Minimum Age Regulation and Child Labor: New Evidence from Brazil," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(1), pages 234-260.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    child labor; human capital; social protection;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J80 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - General
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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