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Is child labor a barrier to school enrollment in low- and middle-income countries?

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  • Putnick, Diane L.
  • Bornstein, Marc H.

Abstract

Achieving universal primary education is one of the Millennium Development Goals. In low- and middle-income developing countries (LMIC), child labor may be a barrier. Few multi-country, controlled studies of the relations between different kinds of child labor and schooling are available. This study employs 186,795 families with 7- to 14-year-old children in 30 LMIC to explore relations of children's work outside the home, family work, and household chores with school enrollment. Significant negative relations emerged between each form of child labor and school enrollment, but relations were more consistent for family work and household chores than work outside the home. All relations were moderated by country and sometimes by gender. These differentiated findings have nuanced policy implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Putnick, Diane L. & Bornstein, Marc H., 2015. "Is child labor a barrier to school enrollment in low- and middle-income countries?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 112-120.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:41:y:2015:i:c:p:112-120
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2015.02.001
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    8. Jaejin Ahn & Joan P. Yoo, 2022. "Patterns of Time Use among 12-Year-Old Children and Their Life Satisfaction: A Gender and Cross-Country Comparison," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(5), pages 1693-1717, October.
    9. Lee, Jieun & Kim, Hyoungjong & Rhee, Dong-Eun, 2021. "No harmless child labor: The effect of child labor on academic achievement in francophone Western and Central Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    10. Bo Chen & Dong Tan, 2023. "Industrial Robots and the Employment Quality of Migrant Workers in the Manufacturing Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-21, May.
    11. Shahateet, Mohammed Issa, 2022. "Does child labour increase unemployment and reduce labour force participation? Empirical evidence from Jordan," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
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    13. Abou, Pokou Edouard, 2016. "Does Domestic Work Affect the Academic Performance of Girls in Primary School in Côte d’Ivoire? Empirical Evidence from Probit Model," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12(35), pages 368-381.
    14. Marine JOUVIN, 2021. "Addressing social desirability bias in child labor measurement : an application to cocoa farms in Côte d’Ivoire," Bordeaux Economics Working Papers 2021-08, Bordeaux School of Economics (BSE).
    15. Rees, Gwyther, 2017. "Children's activities and time use: Variations between and within 16 countries," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 78-87.
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    17. Abou, Pokou Edouard, 2016. "Does the Unavailability of Educational Resources in Schools Determine Child Labor in Sub-Saharan Africa? A Micro-econometric Analysis from Cȏte d’Ivoire," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 5(2).
    18. Sameh Hallaq & Ayman Khalifah, 2022. "School Performance and Child Labor: Evidence from West Bank Schools," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_1007, Levy Economics Institute.
    19. Chang, Grace, 2022. "How is adolescents' time allocation associated with their self-esteem and self-efficacy? Evidence from four developing countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115059, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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