Revisiting the Link between Poverty and Child Labor : The Ghanaian Experience
The link between poverty, and child labor has traditionally been regarded as well established. But recent research has questioned the validity of this link, claiming that poverty is not a main determinant of child labor. Starting from the premise t...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2000/11/748675/revisiting-link-between-poverty-child-labor-ghanaian-experience http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19774 |
| Summary: | The link between poverty, and child
labor has traditionally been regarded as well established.
But recent research has questioned the validity of this
link, claiming that poverty is not a main determinant of
child labor. Starting from the premise that child labor is
not necessarily harmful, the authors analyze the
determinants of harmful child labor, viewed as child labor
that directly conflicts with children's accumulation of
human capital, in an effort to identify the most vulnerable
groups. Identifying these groups might enable policymakers
to take appropriate action. The authors estimate the
positive relationship between poverty, and child labor.
Moreover, they find evidence of a gender gap in child labor,
linked to poverty. Girls as a group (as well as across
urban, rural, and poverty sub-samples) are consistently
found to be more likely to engage in harmful child labor,
than boys. This gender gap may reflect cultural norms (an
issue that calls for further research). The incidence of
child labor increases with age, especially for girls. In
Ghana, there are structural differences - across gender,
between rural and urban locations, and across poverty
quintiles of households - in the processes underlying child labor. |
|---|