Child Labour, Schooling And Poverty: An Analysis Of Ghana'S Recent Experience

In spite of the major efforts by governments in addressing the issue of childrena€Ÿs participation in the labour market, much remains to be learnt about the determinants of child labour and schooling in Ghana. This study sought to explore the link between child labour, schooling and poverty using data from the 2005/06 Ghana Living Standards Survey. From a premise that child labour conflicts with the human capital accumulation of the child, an attempt is made using a logistic model to identify the determinants of child labour and schooling in Ghana. The findings from the regression results established a gender gap in schooling a- in favour of girls. Child labour is found to be more of a rural phenomenon. Fathers with relatively high levels of education were found to have a significant influence on reducing the likelihood of child labour. Household ownership of productive assets (land and livestock), and other household characteristics also has a significant role to play. The result also established that children from poor households are more likely to participate in the labour market. The corresponding relationship with schooling shows that poverty reduces the likelihood of a child being in school. The result thus lends strong support to the view that poverty has a big impact on child labour. General and specific recommendations aimed at increasing school attendance and reducing child labour have been made.