Parental Absence and Agency: The Household Characteristics of Hazardous Forms of Child Labour in Nepal

Using Nepal's first nationwide household survey that incorporates a module (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Module 5, Nepal 2014) on children's working conditions, this paper investigates the factors that drive children into hazardous forms of labour. While the importance of eliminating the hazardous and worst forms of child labour has been addressed for many years, quantitative evidence on what household characteristics lead children to work in hazardous environments is scarce. The new finding from this paper is that, even among children who are engaged in child labour, children from poorer households are more likely to engage in hazardous forms of child labour. Similarly, household characteristics such as father's absence due to death, and children living without parental care result in higher risk of children engaging in hazardous labour. The evidence from the empirical analysis about associated factors for hazardous child labour helps policymakers identify families at high risk. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.