IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/chinre/v17y2024i4d10.1007_s12187-024-10141-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors Fuelling the Persistence of Child Labour: Evidence from Pakistan

Author

Listed:
  • Shahla Akram

    (National College of Business Administration & Economics)

  • Mehboob Ul Hassan

    (King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

  • Muhammad Farrukh Shahzad

    (Beijing University of Technology)

Abstract

The persistence of child labour globally can be attributed to a complex interplay of multifaceted factors. This study examines the relationship between these diverse factors of child labour, such as economic activities, working hours, hazardous conditions and overall prevalence. Logistic regression analysis was conducted using data from Pakistan’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS sixth wave). According to the data, poor quality education worsens child labour, while parental education and wealth protect against it. Gender differences, child disabilities, regional differences and non-violent behaviour all have significant impacts on labour force participation. This study highlights the complex interactions between socioeconomic and regional factors in determining child labour. It fills gaps in the existing literature by focusing on previously overlooked elements such as nonviolent behaviour and comprehensive disability interactions, as well as conducting a comprehensive examination of socioeconomic determinants. Understanding these dynamics is critical to targeted initiatives to eliminate child labour and ensure the well-being of children.

Suggested Citation

  • Shahla Akram & Mehboob Ul Hassan & Muhammad Farrukh Shahzad, 2024. "Factors Fuelling the Persistence of Child Labour: Evidence from Pakistan," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(4), pages 1771-1790, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:17:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s12187-024-10141-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s12187-024-10141-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12187-024-10141-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12187-024-10141-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tatek Abebe & Sharon Bessell, 2011. "Dominant Discourses, Debates and Silences on Child Labour in Africa and Asia," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 765-786.
    2. Hamenoo, Emma Seyram & Dwomoh, Emmanuel Aprakru & Dako-Gyeke, Mavis, 2018. "Child labour in Ghana: Implications for children's education and health," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 248-254.
    3. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2019. "Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 181-209, October.
    4. Das, Krishna Surjya, 2022. "Child labour and its determinants in India," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    5. Getinet Haile & Beliyou Haile, 2012. "Child labour and child schooling in rural Ethiopia: nature and trade-off," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(4), pages 365-385, September.
    6. 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.
    7. Sonia Bhalotra, 2007. "Is Child Work Necessary?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 69(1), pages 29-55, February.
    8. Quattri, Maria & Watkins, Kevin, 2019. "Child labour and education – A survey of slum settlements in Dhaka (Bangladesh)," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 13(C), pages 50-66.
    9. Beth Tarleton & Danielle Turney, 2020. "Understanding ‘Successful Practice/s’ with Parents with Learning Difficulties when there are Concerns about Child Neglect: the Contribution of Social Practice Theory," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(2), pages 387-409, April.
    10. Khaled Khatab & Maruf A Raheem & Benn Sartorius & Mubarak Ismail, 2019. "Prevalence and risk factors for child labour and violence against children in Egypt using Bayesian geospatial modelling with multiple imputation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, May.
    11. Bundervoet, Tom & Dávalos, Maria E. & Garcia, Natalia, 2022. "The short-term impacts of COVID-19 on households in developing countries: An overview based on a harmonized dataset of high-frequency surveys," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    12. Anubhab Gupta & Heng Zhu & Miki Khanh Doan & Aleksandr Michuda & Binoy Majumder, 2021. "Economic Impacts of the COVID−19 Lockdown in a Remittance‐Dependent Region," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(2), pages 466-485, March.
    13. Can Tang & Liqiu Zhao & Zhong Zhao, 2020. "Does free education help combat child labor? The effect of a free compulsory education reform in rural China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(2), pages 601-631, April.
    14. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Iqbal, Nasir & Nawaz, Saima & Yew, Siew Ling, 2021. "Unconditional cash transfers, child labour and education: theory and evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 437-457.
    15. Meltem Dayıoğlu & Murat Güray Kırdar, 2022. "Keeping Kids in School and Out of Work: Compulsory Schooling and Child Labor in Turkey," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(4), pages 526-555.
    16. Rasheda Khanam & Mohammad Mafizur Rahman, 2008. "Child Labour in Developing Countries: The Role of Education, Poverty and Birth Order," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, vol. 10(2), pages 173-195, July-Dece.
    17. Adonteng-Kissi, Obed, 2018. "Causes of child labour: Perceptions of rural and urban parents in Ghana," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 55-65.
    18. Kate Kenny & Marianna Fotaki, 2023. "The Costs and Labour of Whistleblowing: Bodily Vulnerability and Post-disclosure Survival," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(2), pages 341-364, January.
    19. Christophe Jalil Nordman & Smriti Sharma & Naveen Sunder, 2022. "Here Comes the Rain Again: Productivity Shocks, Educational Investments, and Child Work," Post-Print hal-03963272, HAL.
    20. Camila Perera & Shivit Bakrania & Alessandra Ipince & Zahrah Nesbitt‐Ahmed & Oluwaseun Obasola & Dominic Richardson & Jorinde Van de Scheur & Ruichuan Yu, 2022. "Impact of social protection on gender equality in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A systematic review of reviews," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(2), June.
    21. Ranjan Ray, 2000. "Analysis of child labour in Peru and Pakistan: A comparative study," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 13(1), pages 3-19.
    22. Alhassan Abdullah & Inès Huynh & Clifton R. Emery & Lucy P. Jordan, 2022. "Social Norms and Family Child Labor: A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-21, March.
    23. Sara Burrone & Gianna Claudia Giannelli, 2020. "Child Labour, Gender and Vulnerable Employment in Adulthood. Evidence for Tanzania," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(12), pages 2235-2250, December.
    24. Shaun Grech, 2019. "Disabled Families: The Impacts of Disability and Care on Family Labour and Poverty in Rural Guatemala," Societies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-16, November.
    25. repec:eme:ijlma0:ijlma-07-2018-0145 is not listed on IDEAS
    26. Malik Muhammad & Nasim Shah Shirazi & Zafar Kayani, 2024. "Parental education and child labour: evidence from Pakistan," International Journal of Education Economics and Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 15(1/2), pages 285-298.
    27. Muhammad Tariq Majeed & Faiza Kiran, 2019. "Women’s decision making power and child labor: evidence from Pakistan," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 2175-2197, July.
    28. Aline Gatignon & Laurence Capron, 2023. "The firm as an architect of polycentric governance: Building open institutional infrastructure in emerging markets," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 48-85, January.
    29. Jonathan Colmer, 2021. "Rainfall Variability, Child Labor, and Human Capital Accumulation in Rural Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(3), pages 858-877, May.
    30. Ronald Musizvingoza & Jonathan Blagbrough & Nicola Suyin Pocock, 2022. "Are Child Domestic Workers Worse Off than Their Peers? Comparing Children in Domestic Work, Child Marriage, and Kinship Care with Biological Children of Household Heads: Evidence from Zimbabwe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-18, June.
    31. Bansal, Vaiddehi & Wallach, Jessica & Lira Brandão, Juliana & Lord, Sarah & Taha, Ninar & Akoglu, Tulay & Kiss, Ligia & Zimmerman, Cathy, 2023. "An intervention-focused review of modern slave labor in Brazil’s mining sector," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bang, James & Mitra, Aniruddha & Abbas, Faisal, 2023. "Remittances and Child Labor in Pakistan: A Tale of Complementarities," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1285, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Abdullah, Alhassan & Cudjoe, Ebenezer & Bastian, Carmela & Jordan, Lucy P., 2024. "Passing the torch or breaking a cycle of intergenerational transmission of child labour: Reflections from the lived experiences of children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    3. Bhalotra, Sonia & Heady, Chris, 2000. "Child farm labour: theory and evidence," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6654, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Mehdi Feizi & Saeed Malek Sadati & Mozhgan Asna-ashary, 2023. "Child Labor and Unemployment: a Tale of Two Associations in Urban and Rural Areas in Iran," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(3), pages 1297-1314, June.
    5. Kozhaya, Mireille, 2022. "The double burden: The impact of school closures on labor force participation of mothers," Ruhr Economic Papers 956, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    6. Sonia Bhalotra & Christopher Heady, 2003. "Child Farm Labor: The Wealth Paradox," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 17(2), pages 197-227, December.
    7. Oded STARK & Wiktor BUDZINSKI, 2023. "The demand for gratitude as a restraint on the use of child labor: A hypothesis," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(1), pages 137-147, March.
    8. Dammert, Ana C., 2008. "Child labor and schooling response to changes in coca production in rural Peru," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 164-180, April.
    9. Basu, Arnab K. & Dimova, Ralitza, 2021. "Household Preferences and Child Labor in Rural Ethiopia," IZA Discussion Papers 14062, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Sen, Kritika & Villa, Kira M., 2022. "Rainfall shocks and adolescent school-work transition: Evidence from rural South Africa," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322383, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Chinh T. Mai & Akira Hibiki, 2023. "How Does Flood Affect Children Differently? The Impact of Flood on Children’s Education, Labor, Food Consumption, and Cognitive Development," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-1211, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    12. Moussa Keita, 2014. "Pauvreté et arbitrage entre scolarisation et travail des enfants au Mali," Working Papers halshs-01064821, HAL.
    13. Wahba, J., 2006. "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.
    14. 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.
    15. Jackline Wahba, 2006. "The influence of market wages and parental history on child labour and schooling in Egypt," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 19(4), pages 823-852, October.
    16. Rodrigo Pérez-Silva & Mayarí Castillo & Chiara Cazzuffi, 2023. "Droughts and Local Labor Markets. Studying Heterogenous Effects on Women and Indigenous People in Chile," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 281-302, July.
    17. Yasmine Bekkouche & Kenneth Houngbedji & Oswald Koussihouede, 2022. "Rainy days and learning outcomes: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers DT/2022/07, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    18. Dunne, Máiréad & Humphreys, Sara, 2022. "The edu-workscape: Re-conceptualizing the relationship between work and education in rural children’s lives in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    19. Ersado, Lire, 2005. "Child Labor and Schooling Decisions in Urban and Rural Areas: Comparative Evidence from Nepal, Peru, and Zimbabwe," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 455-480, March.
    20. Ersado, Lire, 2002. "Child labor and school decisions in urban and rural areas," FCND briefs 145, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:17:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s12187-024-10141-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.