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Selection into Worst Forms of Child Labor: Child Domestics, Porters and Ragpickers in Nepal
Abstract
A large literature considers why children work, but little is known about why children participate in activities that are labeled worst as the forms of child labor. Case-control approaches common in medicine are adapted to consider the correlates of participation in worst forms in the context of three activities that the Nepali government has labeled as among the worst forms of child labor in Nepal: child domestic service, portering, and rag picking [Dartmouth college, IZA and NBER WP].
... In poor communities, households or families with disabled or illiterate parents are more likely to opt for generating income by engaging their children in child labor (Edmonds, 2007;Webbink et al., 2012). Several studies show that parents' education has a positive impact on child schooling and negative impact on child labor in Bangladesh (Ravallion and Wodon, 2000;Khanam, 2005;Shafiq, 2007;Ahmed and Ray, 2011;Hossain and Akter, 2019). ...
This volume addresses the eighth Sustainable Development Goal. It not only enquires into its global promulgation and into individual local, national, and international cooperative programs in support of it, but it also considers the framing and elaboration of the goal, its adaptation to particular geographical contexts, stakeholder involvement in it, and the issues concerning decent work conditions worldwide.
... In poor communities, households or families with disabled or illiterate parents are more likely to opt for generating income by engaging their children in child labor (Edmonds, 2007;Webbink et al., 2012). Several studies show that parents' education has a positive impact on child schooling and negative impact on child labor in Bangladesh (Ravallion and Wodon, 2000;Khanam, 2005;Shafiq, 2007;Ahmed and Ray, 2011;Hossain and Akter, 2019). ...
This research is concerned with understanding the factors behind the trade-off between child labor and child schooling, given the well-documented links between the two. It examines parents' behavior in their decision-making on their children's schooling or practicing child labor. Depending on qualitative research methods including 28 semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions conducted in the rural areas of Bangladesh in 2020, this study reveals the following: subsistence needs compel households, particularly the ultra-poor and the female-headed, to trade off child labor with schooling; due to higher demand of labor, parents engage their children into work instead of schooling; parents of labor-intensive occupations tend to trade off child labor with schooling; sexual division of labor remains obvious; finally, credit constraints and cultural beliefs have negative impacts on parental decision-making on child schooling. Interventions aiming to reduce child labor and increase schooling in these rural areas must remain mindful of the socio-economic and cultural needs.
... However, very few theoretical attempts have been made to understand the cultural persistence of child labour in these contexts. Third, the existing evidence of child labour largely comes from surveys of children, which alone cannot be informative about the determinants (Edmonds, 2007). Gatsinzi (2020) argues that in many contexts, states fail to provide children with legal birth registration documents, which makes the regulation difficult to impose and raises questions about those surveys determining the exact chronological age of such children. ...
The global response to child labour is based on the standards set by three major international conventions. This review examines the historical development of the conceptualizations of various forms of child labour, relevant views and perspectives, contemporary theoretical underpinnings, and policy suggestions. The emerging evidence shows that child labour incidences in all its forms have increased in many parts of the world, and the global target to eradicate child labour by 2025 seems unattainable. The evaluation indicates that the current global age-based abolitionist policy to fight child labour has lost some ground. The covid-19 pandemic has worsened the situation and the worst forms of child labour have become even more widespread and deeply normalized in many contexts and communities. The current scholarship of child labour remains critically ignorant of the relevant societal and cultural norms. Contemporary theorists and empiricists emphasize on constructing knowledge with the children and families engaged in child labour and focusing on finding innovative community-led alternatives to the worst forms of child labour. Regulations, policies, and support programmes must recognize the economic contribution of working children and work towards the children's best interests.
... Recently, studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds 2009;Pallage 2001, 2005). Despite the advances in child labour research, seldom have studies looked into the determinants and effects of child forced labour. ...
Child labour is universally condemned by international bodies, including United Nations agencies, and has been deemed as a violation of human rights in various conventions over the years.
... Recently, studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds 2009;Pallage 2001, 2005). Despite the advances in child labour research, seldom have studies looked into the determinants and effects of child forced labour. ...
In this article we present the results of a qualitative survey on teenage mothers in Mauritius. We expose the causes and consequences of teenage motherhood in Mauritius. The causes of child pregnancy are household poverty, personal characteristics of children and the social environment. One of the consequences of teenage motherhood in Mauritius is prostitution. We show how children are involved in prostitution.
... Recently, studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds 2009;Pallage 2001, 2005). Despite the advances in child labour research, seldom have studies looked into the determinants and effects of child forced labour. ...
This edited volume examines child exploitation in the Global South. It introduces several case studies and interviews articulated around two features: exploitation within the family and exploitation in relation to social contexts. The research shows that both of the features are linked and, generally, they are not separate. It makes several important arguments which challenge the most common view on how children are perceived and exploited in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Additionally, it explores the social representation of exploited children as well as their general well-being.
... Recently, studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds 2009;Pallage 2001, 2005). Despite the advances in child labour research, seldom have studies looked into the determinants and effects of child forced labour. ...
The media have often presented child labour as one of the most striking symbols of poverty. Although it first came to attention in the Western world with the advent of the industrial revolution (Schlemmer 2006), child labour, particularly in developing countries, was thrust into the spotlight in the mid-1990s with the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 and the creation of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
... Recently, studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds 2009;Pallage 2001, 2005). Despite the advances in child labour research, seldom have studies looked into the determinants and effects of child forced labour. ...
Every day, local newspapers in Lima report accidents involving mototaxi drivers: many of these drivers are young. The northern districts of Lima are very steep, so as drivers gain speed, it is not uncommon for them to have difficulty braking at intersections. The risk of accidents is high. Driving a mototaxi may therefore be considered as hazardous work .
... Recently, studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds 2009;Pallage 2001, 2005). Despite the advances in child labour research, seldom have studies looked into the determinants and effects of child forced labour. ...
In this article we present the results of a qualitative survey on teenage mothers in Mauritius. We expose the causes and consequences of teenage motherhood in Mauritius. The causes of child pregnancy are household poverty, personal characteristics of children and the social environment. One of the consequences of teenage motherhood in Mauritius is prostitution. We show how children are involved in prostitution.
... Recently, studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds 2009;Pallage 2001, 2005). Despite the advances in child labour research, seldom have studies looked into the determinants and effects of child forced labour. ...
Talibés are children, usually boys, who have been sent to Koranic schools, also known as daaras. This is a widespread phenomenon in French-speaking West Africa.
... Recently, studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds 2009;Pallage 2001, 2005). Despite the advances in child labour research, seldom have studies looked into the determinants and effects of child forced labour. ...
In September 2000, the British broadcast BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/946952.stm) presented a provocative documentary “The Bitter Taste of Slavery” on children slavery in cocoa farms in West Africa.
... Recently, studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds 2009;Pallage 2001, 2005). Despite the advances in child labour research, seldom have studies looked into the determinants and effects of child forced labour. ...
Over the past 20 years or so, many people, particularly children, have fallen victim to structural adjustments in certain developing countries (Cornia et al. in Adjustment with a human face. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1987; Cagatay et al. in World Dev 23:238–253, 1995). In addition to the ‘adjustments’ imposed by international organisations, some countries have also descended into economic crisis and violent civil conflict.
... Recently, studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds 2009;Pallage 2001, 2005). Despite the advances in child labour research, seldom have studies looked into the determinants and effects of child forced labour. ...
Debt bondage is a violation of human rights. Landless households take advances to survive in their village. Child labour is used to increase household productivity. We use data from a survey conducted in Tamil Nadu, India, to test the relationship between child labour their specialization in the brick kiln industry and debt bondage. Probit model is used to test the determinant factors of children’s specialization. Children are mainly involved in two activities, moulding and clay preparation. The main results show that the specialization of children depends on age. Clay preparation is an activity has a positive effect on household debt repayment, and moulding activity allows the household to increase its production of bricks.
... Recently, studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds 2009;Pallage 2001, 2005). Despite the advances in child labour research, seldom have studies looked into the determinants and effects of child forced labour. ...
Child labour is universally condemned by international bodies, including United Nations agencies, and has been deemed as a violation of human rights in various conventions over the years.
... Recently studies on child labour are shifting towards the worst forms of child labour including forced child labour (Edmonds, 2009;Dessy and Pallage, 2001;Dessy and Pallage, 2005). ...
The debate concerning the fight against child labour has given rise to two rather different positions. On the one hand, abolitionists who rely on international conventions argue for a total eradication of the phenomenon.
This study assessed the impact of Child labour on academic achievement of pupils in public primary schools in Ilorin East Local Government, Kwara State, Nigeria. Two research questions were raised and were tested with two null hypotheses. Survey research design was adopted. The population for the study was all the eighty-three public primary schools in Ilorin East Local Government. Five schools were selected as sample and forty respondents from classes 5 and 6 from each school were randomly selected for the study, making total of two hundred respondents. The instruments used for data collection was the score in the report card of the students for 2015/2016 academic session. Frequency distribution and percentages were used to analyze the demographic data obtained from the respondents while a t-test was used to test the null hypotheses generated at 0.05 level of significance. The findings showed that, there is a significant difference in the academic achievement of children exposed to child labour and those who are not in public primary schools in Ilorin East Local Government, and there is a significant difference in the academic performance of male and female children exposed to child labour in public primary schools in Ilorin East Local Government, Kwara State. The study recommended among others that children exposed to labour should be given equal right to attend school regardless of any engagement in labour activity. It also recommended that government/parents should develop strategies to reduce or eradicate child labour activities.
मानव जीवन की आवश्यक एवं प्राप्ति की बात की जाये तो वह रोजी, रोजगार इस कारण मात्र करता है कि उसे रोटी, कपड़ा और मकान में पूर्ति हो सके। इसी उद्देश्य से वह अपने जीवन में संसाधनों को प्राप्त करता है। मानव जीवन अत्यन्त संघर्ष एवं झंझावातों से टकराकर निष्कर्ष तक पहुँचने वाला एक पथ है। इस पथ पर कई लोग सामान्यतः अग्रसर हो जाते हैं और कई लोग टूट कर रह जाते हैं।
इसी श्रेणी में गरीब, वंचित, निराश्रित लोग आते हैं। वह चाहे जिस जाति विशेष से क्यों न हों। वह अपने जीवन संघर्ष से अनवरत पराक्रम कर आगे बढ़ते हैं। इसी संघर्ष में कुछ प्राप्ति हेतु वह स्वयं एवं अपने अबोध बालक/बालिकाओं को ढकेल देते हैं। इन्हीं अबोध बालक/बालिकाओं को बाल-श्रमिक नाम से इंगित किया जाता है। इन्हीं बाल श्रमिकों की समस्याओं को पहचानना एवं उसकी समस्या समाधान ही इस शोध का उद्देश्य है।
शोध का यह भी उद्देश्य होगा कि इनकी समस्याओं का निवारण करने की चुनौतियो को पूर्ण रूप से समझना एवं आवश्यकतानुसार शोध उद्देश्यों को परिणति करना है। बाल श्रमिकों की कोई भी विशेष आवश्यकता नहीं होती। बस अपना या अपने परिवार के भरण-पोषण के लिए की गयी मजदूरी एवं उससे होने वाले आय मात्र से है। इसी आय से वह अपनी दैनिक दिनचर्या को चला पाने में समर्थ हो जाता है। इनकी सभी विसंगतियों एव ं समस्याओं को समझना इस शोध का मूल उद्देश्य है।
This study identified practices required by Agricultural Education lecturers in the development and utilization
of PowerPoint for quality instruction in South-East Nigerian universities. Two specific objectives were posed
to guide the study with corresponding research questions and hypotheses. A survey research design was
suitably adopted for the study. The target population for the study was 56 lecturers of Agricultural Education
in 6 public universities offering Agricultural education in South-East Nigeria. Census was used for the study.
A researcher-developed structured questionnaire validated by 3 experts was used as an instrument for data
collection. The reliability of the instrument was determined at an index of .86 using Cronbach’s Alpha
Coefficient test. Data collected for the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as Mean to
answer research questions and standard deviation to show degree of responses. Independent Sample t-test
was used to test the 2 stated hypotheses at .05-level of significance. The study found that lecturers of
Agricultural Education require 17-practices in the development of PowerPoint and 10-practices in the
utilization of PowerPoint for quality instruction South-East Nigerian universities. Therefore, the study
concluded that there are 17-practices on PowerPoint development and 10-practices on PowerPoint utilization
for quality instruction in South-East Nigerian universities. It was recommended by the study that Agricultural
education lecturers should adopt these practices identified by the study for quality instruction in South-East
Nigerian universities.
This study investigated the impacts of child labour on school attendance and academic performance of secondary school students in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. five hypotheses were tested. The descriptive research design was adopted for the study. A total of 300 respondent were selected from six (6) senior secondary school students within Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State using simple random sampling technique. The research instrument used was a four point modified Rensis Likert Rating Scale Questionnaire type. Data analysis were done using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentage and mean to answer the research questions, while the hypotheses formulated were tested using Chi-square and independent t-test statistical tool at 0.05 level of significance. The study concluded that there was a significant effect of students’ exposure to child labour on the school attendance, academic performance and study habit of senior secondary school students in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State. Also, there was a significant difference in academic performance of students exposed to child labour and those that are not in senior secondary school students in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State. But there was no significant difference in school attendance of students exposed to child labour and those that are not in senior secondary school students in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State. The study recommended that the federal government of Nigeria should work towards the eradication of poverty by providing employments to its citizens, which is the primary cause of child labour, the Government/Community should develop positive strategies to labour reduction towards a fruitful fulfillment of children’s school attendance and academic performance, such as: introducing more subsidies such as free meal tickets and reduced school bills and that the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programs should be fully implemented and monitored to take care of these children exposed work.
Slavery has at one point or another existed in several countries and in various forms: traditional slavery, bonded labour; labour coercion with exploitation; and human trafficking for forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation. We look into the issue of forced domestic labour among children, focusing on Nepal. Domestic labour is a phenomenon that is difficult to identify as it often takes place in private, within the homes of the “employer”. Access to the place of work is therefore difficult, especially for labour inspectors. Using the 2003 Nepali National Academy’s baseline survey of child domestic workers, we carry out an initial study of the factors that make domestic workers vulnerable to forced labour. We find that the most important factors relate to the age at which the child initially started work, irrespective of the type of initial work and the gender of the child. The results seem to suggest the importance of informing minimum age requirements for entering into the labour market.
In recent years, there has been an astonishing proliferation of empirical work on child labor. An Econlit search of keywords "child labor" reveals a total of 6 peer reviewed journal articles between 1980 and 1990, 65 between 1990 and 2000, and 143 in the first five years of the present decade. The purpose of this essay is to provide a detailed overview of the state of the recent empirical literature on why and how children work as well as the consequences of that work. Section 1 defines terms commonly used in the study of child time allocation and provides a descriptive overview of how children spend their time in low income countries today. Section 2 reviews the case for attention to the most common types of work in which children participate, focusing on that work's impact on schooling, health, as well as externalities associated with that work. Section 3 considers the literature on the determinants of child time allocation such as the influence of local labor markets, family interactions, the net return to schooling, and poverty. Section 5 discusses the limited evidence on different policy options aimed at influencing child labor. Section 6 concludes by emphasizing important research questions requiring additional research such as child and parental agency, the effectiveness of child labor policies, and the determinants of participation in the worst forms of child labor.
In recent years, there has been an astonishing proliferation of empirical work on child labor. An Econlit search of keywords “child lab*r” reveals a total of 6 peer reviewed journal articles between 1980 and 1990, 65 between 1990 and 2000, and 143 in the first five years of the present decade. The purpose of this essay is to provide a detailed overview of the state of the recent empirical literature on why and how children work as well as the consequences of that work.
We study rare events data, binary dependent variables with dozens to thousands of times fewer ones (events, such as wars, vetoes, cases of political activism, or epidemiological infections) than zeros ("nonevents"). In many literatures, these variables have proven difficult to explain and predict, a problem that seems to have at least two sources. First, popular statistical procedures, such as logistic regression, can shar ply underestimate the probability of rare events. We recommend corrections that outperform existing methods and change the estimates of absolute and relative risks by as much as some estimated effects repor ted in the literature. Second, commonly used data collection strategies are grossly inefficient for rare events data. The fear of collecting data with too few events has led to data collections with huge numbers of obser vations but relatively few, and poorly measured, explanator y variables, such as in international conflict data with more than a quarter-million dyads, only a few of which are at war. As it turns out, more efficient sampling designs exist for making valid inferences, such as sampling all available events (e.g., wars) and a tiny fraction of nonevents (peace). This enables scholars to save as much as 99% of their (nonfixed) data collection costs or to collect much more meaningful explanator y variables. We provide methods that link these two results, enabling both types of corrections to work simultaneously, and software that implements the methods developed.
This collection brings together important contributions by leading econometricians on (i) parametric approaches to qualitative and sample selection models, (ii) nonparametric and semi-parametric approaches to qualitative and sample selection models, and (iii) nonlinear estimation of cross-sectional and time series models. The advances achieved here can have important bearing on the choice of methods and analytical techniques in applied research.
In recent years, there has been an astonishing proliferation of empirical work on child labor. An Econlit search of keywords "child labor" reveals a total of 6 peer reviewed journal articles between 1980 and 1990, 65 between 1990 and 2000, and 143 in the first five years of the present decade. The purpose of this essay is to provide a detailed overview of the state of the recent empirical literature on why and how children work as well as the consequences of that work. Section 1 defines terms commonly used in the study of child time allocation and provides a descriptive overview of how children spend their time in low income countries today. Section 2 reviews the case for attention to the most common types of work in which children participate, focusing on that work's impact on schooling, health, as well as externalities associated with that work. Section 3 considers the literature on the determinants of child time allocation such as the influence of local labor markets, family interactions, the net return to schooling, and poverty. Section 5 discusses the limited evidence on different policy options aimed at influencing child labor. Section 6 concludes by emphasizing important research questions requiring additional research such as child and parental agency, the effectiveness of child labor policies, and the determinants of participation in the worst forms of child labor.
The probability of disease development in a defined time period is described by a logistic regression model. A model for the
regression variable, given disease status, is induced and is applied to case-control data. It is shown that the odds ratio
estimators and their asymptotic variance matrices may be obtained by applying the original logistic regression model to the
case-control study as if the data had been obtained in a prospective study. This result gives a flexible and convenient method
of analysis for a range of case-control studies in which stratum sizes are reasonably large. The work extends Anderson's (1972)
results on logistic discrimination and generalizes the findings of Breslow & Powers (1978) on the equivalence of odds ratio
estimators when both prospective and retrospective logistic models are applied to case-control data.
This paper considers inference about a parametric binary choice model when the data consist of two distinct samples. The first is a random sample from the people who made choice 1, say, with all relevant covariates completely observed. The second is a random sample from the whole population with only the covariates observed. This is called a contaminated sampling scheme. An example might be where we have a random sample of female labor force participants and their covariate values and a second random sample of working age women, with covariates, whose participant status is unknown. We consider the cases in which the fraction of the population making choice 1 is known and that in which it is not. For both cases we give semiparametrically efficient procedures for estimating the choice model parameters.
Although intuitive and morally compelling, a ban on the worst forms of child labour in poor countries is unlikely to be welfare improving. We show that harmful forms of child labour have an economic role: by maintaining wages for child labour high enough, they allow human capital accumulation in poor countries. Unless appropriate mechanisms are designed to mitigate the decline in child labour wages caused by reduced employment options for children, a ban on harmful forms of child labour will likely prove undesirable. We perform our analysis within a simple model of parental investment in children's education. Copyright 2005 Royal Economic Society.
If child labor as a mass phenomenon occurs not because of parental selfishness but because of the parents' concern for the household's survival, the popular argument for banning child labor loses much of its force. However, this assumption about parental decision making, coupled with the assumption of substitutability in production between child and adult labor, could result in multiple equilibria in the labor market, with one equilibrium where children work and another where adult wage is high and children do not work. The paper establishes this result and discusses its policy implications. Copyright 1998 by American Economic Association.
We study rare events data, binary dependent variables with dozens to thousands of times fewer ones (events, such as wars,
vetoes, cases of political activism, or epidemiological infections) than zeros (“nonevents”). In many literatures, these variables
have proven difficult to explain and predict, a problem that seems to have at least two sources. First, popular statistical
procedures, such as logistic regression, can sharply underestimate the probability of rare events. We recommend corrections
that outperform existing methods and change the estimates of absolute and relative risks by as much as some estimated effects
reported in the literature. Second, commonly used data collection strategies are grossly inefficient for rare events data.
The fear of collecting data with too few events has led to data collections with huge numbers of observations but relatively
few, and poorly measured, explanatory variables, such as in international conflict data with more than a quarter-million dyads,
only a few of which are at war. As it turns out, more efficient sampling designs exist for making valid inferences, such as
sampling all available events (e.g., wars) and a tiny fraction of nonevents (peace). This enables scholars to save as much
as 99% of their (nonfixed) data collection costs or to collect much more meaningful explanatory variables. We provide methods
that link these two results, enabling both types of corrections to work simultaneously, and software that implements the methods
developed.
Situation of Child Porters: A Rapid Assessment", Investigating the Worst Forms of Child Labour Series
- B K Adhikari
- K P Subedi
- G Gurun
KC, B.K., Adhikari, K.P, Subedi, G. and Gurun, Y.B. (2001a), "Situation of Child Porters: A Rapid
Assessment", Investigating the Worst Forms of Child Labour Series, No.6. ILO-IPEC,
Geneva.
Child Ragpickers in Nepal: A Report on the 2002-2003 Baseline Survey
- S Mhukherjee
Mhukherjee, S. (2003). Child Ragpickers in Nepal: A Report on the 2002-2003 Baseline Survey,
International Labour Organization, Kathmandu Nepal.
The Time Bound Program in Nepal
International Labour Organization (2001), The Time Bound Program in Nepal, International Labour
Organization, Kathmandu Nepal.