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Income Contributions of Child Work in Rural Ethiopia

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  • John Cockburn

    (Laval University, Quebec, Canada)

Abstract

The income contribution of child work is undoubtedly a key factor influencing child work and schooling decisions. Yet, few studies have attempted to directly measure this contribution. This is particularly the case for work performed on the household farm, as is the case for the vast majority of child workers, rather than for wages. In this study, we estimate a household income function with child labour included as an input. Results using a variety of functional forms and alternative child labour variables are compared. We conclude that children and adults are perfect labour substitutes and that the marginal productivity of children is roughly one-third to one-half that of male adults. The average contribution of each working child is estimated at 4 to 7% of household income, although there is substantial variation with contributions ranging up to 50%. These results underline the dependency of poor households on child work for survival.

Suggested Citation

  • John Cockburn, 2004. "Income Contributions of Child Work in Rural Ethiopia," Development and Comp Systems 0409051, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpdc:0409051
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Isaac Koomson & Simplice A. Asongu, 2016. "Relative Contribution of Child Labour to Household Farm and Non-Farm Income in Ghana: Simulation with Child's Education," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 104-115, March.
    2. L.Guarcello & S.Lyon & F.Rosati, 2006. "The Twin Challenges of Child labour and Youth Employment in Ethiopia," UCW Working Paper 18, Understanding Children's Work (UCW Programme).
    3. Nicola Jones & Andy Sumner, 2009. "Does Mixed Methods Research Matter to Understanding Childhood Well-Being?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 90(1), pages 33-50, January.
    4. Nyong, I. E. & Udoh, E.J. & Edet, G. E. & Inyang E. B., 2024. "Effect of Child Economic Contribution to Farming Households’ Income in Akwa Ibom State. Nigeria," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(6), pages 684-696, June.
    5. Mussa, Essa Chanie & Mirzabaev, Alisher & Admassie, Assefa & Nshakira-Rukundo, Emmanuel & von Braun, Joachim, 2019. "Does childhood work impede long-term human capital accumulation? Empirical evidence from rural Ethiopia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 234-246.
    6. Indri Ariyanti & Taufiq Marwa & Nurlina Tarmizi & Bambang Bemby Soebyakto, 2016. "Child Labor In Palembang," Eurasian Journal of Social Sciences, Eurasian Publications, vol. 4(3), pages 36-47.
    7. repec:ilo:ilowps:374097 is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    child labour; schooling; Ethiopia; household production;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

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