Understanding child labour beyond the standard economic assumption of monetary poverty

Krauss, Alexander ORCID: 0000-0002-1783-2765 (2017) Understanding child labour beyond the standard economic assumption of monetary poverty. Cambridge Journal of Economics. ISSN 0309-166X

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Abstract

Child labour is pervasive across sub-Saharan Africa. The common assumption is that monetary poverty is its most important cause. This paper investigates this hypothesis with empirical evidence by exploring structural, geographic, monetary, demographic, cultural, seasonal and school-supply factors simultaneously that can influence child labour. It is a first attempt in the literature to combine quantitative with qualitative methods to identify a broader range of potential factors—on the demand- and supply-side and at the micro and macro levels—for why children work in agrarian economies like Ghana. Interviews with the Minister of Education and with children enrich the multivariate regression results. The multiple sources of child labour appear to include, in particular, the structure of the economy, social norms and no returns to rural basic education. Policy responses are outlined especially on the demand side that are needed to help reduce harmful child labour that affects children’s education and later opportunities.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://cje.oxfordjournals.org/
Additional Information:	© 2016 The Author
Divisions:	CPNSS
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics > D13 - Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare and Poverty > I31 - General Welfare; Basic Needs; Living Standards; Quality of Life; Happiness J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J23 - Employment Determination; Job Creation; Demand for Labor; Self-Employment J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J24 - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
Date Deposited:	01 Dec 2016 15:10
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 01:24
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/68497

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