The paper was motivated to test whether the high child labor prevalence observed in Ethiopia is explained by the poverty (luxury) hypothesis or wealth paradox theories. The data for this study is the Young Lives project, consisting of 1803 children units (a total of 7212 children in four...

This work uses MVPROBIT model and MICS surveys from rural areas of 8 sub-Saharan African countries to highlight the link between household wealth and child labor. It opposes “wealth paradox” approach of Bhalotra and Heady (2003) to “luxury axiom” approach of Basu and Van (1998). Our...

The paper was motivated to test whether the high child labor prevalence observed in Ethiopia is explained by the poverty (luxury) hypothesis or wealth paradox theories. The data for this study is the Young Lives project, consisting of 1803 children units (a total of 7212 children in four...

We revisit the model of child labor in a peasant household presented in Bhalotra and Heady (2003), and demonstrate that the e¤ect of credit market imperfections on child labor di¤ers between households that save and households that borrow. This in turn is important for the interpretation of...

This paper uses micro data from the Brazilian PNAD between 1981 and 2002 to ascertain the role that local labor demand – proxied by male adult employment in the area of residence - plays in shaping the work and schooling decisions of children aged 10-15. Contrary to the widespread view that...

The current report presents and overview of the child labour phenomenon in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region over recent years. It represents part of a broader effort to improve understanding of how child labour is changing over time in the region, and to ensure that policies relating...

This paper investigates the impact of a government cash transfer on household decisions regarding different activities that a child may perform (schooling, work, leisure). Using data from a randomized evaluation of a cash transfer program in Ecuador, I estimate a choice model to quantify the...

This paper analyses child labour participation and its key determinants using data sets from Peru and Pakistan. The results include tests of the `Luxury' and `Substitution' hypotheses that play key roles in recent studies on child labour and child schooling. The results reject both hypotheses in...

Possession of land is often associated with higher levels of child labour. This paper will look closer at the “wealth paradox†by testing in rural Mali the relationship between landownership and one of the hidden forms of child labour, namely family-based work. We also experiment a...

This paper is motivated by the remarkable observation that children in land-rich households are often more likely to be in work than the children of land-poor households. The vast majority of working children in developing countries are in agricultural work, predominantly on farms operated by...