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Poverty and Child Farm Labor in Africa: Wealth Paradox or bad Orthodoxy

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  • Nkamleu, Guy Blaise

Abstract

The link between poverty and child labor has traditionally been regarded as well established but recent researches have questioned its validity, suggesting that child labor is more important in the richest households (wealth paradox). The present study revisits the link between poverty and farm child labor in Africa and aims at testing the paradoxical wealth effect. Using different modeling techniques, the analysis focuses on family-controlled child labor taking place in the cocoa sector of Côte d’Ivoire. The results reveal that the effect of different commonly used wealth proxies have opposite effects on child labor participation and are sometimes sensitive to the modeling technique. This mixed result is the root of the apparent wealth paradox found in the literature. However, relevant and robust wealth proxies clearly indicate a positive relationship between poverty and child labor. The study therefore sustains that the apparent wealth paradox found in the literature is the end result of a bad orthodoxy.

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  • Nkamleu, Guy Blaise, 2006. "Poverty and Child Farm Labor in Africa: Wealth Paradox or bad Orthodoxy," MPRA Paper 15105, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:15105
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    10. Nkamleu, G. B. & Adesina, A. A., 2000. "Determinants of chemical input use in peri-urban lowland systems: bivariate probit analysis in Cameroon," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 111-121, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sandrine A. Koissy-Kpein, 2015. "Gender-based violence and gender bias in schooling decision: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 107, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Abou, Pokou Edouard, 2015. "Incidence du travail domestique, des caractéristiques de l’école et du ménage sur les résultats scolaires des filles en Côte d’Ivoire [Incidence of domestic work, school and household characteristi," MPRA Paper 43976, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Abou Pokou Edouard, 2019. "A Re-Examination of the Determinants of Child Labour in Côte d’Ivoire," International Journal of Economics and Financial Research, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 5(2), pages 26-35, 02-2019.
    4. Abou, Pokou Edouard, 2016. "Does Domestic Work Affect the Academic Performance of Girls in Primary School in Côte d’Ivoire? Empirical Evidence from Probit Model," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12(35), pages 368-381.
    5. Beyene, Abebe D. & Mekonnen, Alemu & Gebreegziabher, Zenebe, 2014. "Natural Resource Collection and Children’s Literacy: Empirical Evidence from Panel Data in Rural Ethiopia," RFF Working Paper Series dp-14-18-efd, Resources for the Future.
    6. Nkamleu, Guy Blaise & Keho, Yaya & Gockowski, James & David, Soniia, 2007. "Investing in agrochemicals in the cocoa sector of Côte d’Ivoire: Hypotheses, evidence and policy implications," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 1(2), pages 1-22, September.
    7. Idris Isyaku Abdullahi & Zaleha Mohd Noor & Rusmawati Said & Ahmad Zubaidi Baharumshah, 2016. "Does Poverty Influence Prevalence of Child Labor in Developing Countries?," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 6(1), pages 7-12.
    8. Sandrine A. Koissy-Kpein, 2015. "Gender-based violence and gender bias in schooling decision: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-107, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Child labor; Poverty; Cocoa sector; Econometric modeling; Côte d’Ivoire;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities

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