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Child Labor, the Wealth Paradox, and Common Forest Management in Bolivia

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  • Bluffstone, Randy

Abstract

That wealthier developing country households may rely more heavily on child labor than poorer households has come to be known as the “wealth paradox.†This paper tests for a wealth paradox with regard to common natural resource wealth by analyzing the relationship between child labor and improved common property forest management (CPFM) in Bolivia. Data are analyzed using several econometric methods and it is found that households experiencing more effective CPFM generally use more forest-based and total child labor. The analysis also confirms others’ findings of a private wealth paradox with regard to private land and extends the analysis to evaluate the effect of ownership of animals.Classification-JEL: Q23, Q56

Suggested Citation

  • Bluffstone, Randy, 2014. "Child Labor, the Wealth Paradox, and Common Forest Management in Bolivia," RFF Working Paper Series edf-dp-14-16, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:edf-dp-14-16
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    File URL: http://www.rff.org/RFF/documents/EfD-DP-14-16.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. 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.
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    9. John Cockburn & Benoit Dostie, 2007. "Child Work and Schooling: The Role of Household Asset Profiles and Poverty in Rural Ethiopia," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 16(4), pages 519-563, August.
    10. Eric V. Edmonds, 2005. "Does Child Labor Decline with Improving Economic Status?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(1).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    forests; common property; Bolivia; child labor;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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