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Keeping Kids in School and Out of Work: Compulsory Schooling and Child Labor in Turkey

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  • Meltem Dayıoğlu
  • Murat Güray Kırdar

Abstract

We examine the effects of a compulsory schooling reform on child labor in Turkey, which extended the duration of schooling from 5 to 8 years while substantially improving the schooling infrastructure. We employ three rounds of child labor surveys with a very rich set of outcomes. The reform reduces child labor by 4.6 percentage points (24%) for 12- to 17-year-olds. For girls, the probability of spending long hours on household chores also reduces. We find that school enrollment and child labor are highly substitutable in rural areas but not as much in urban areas. In addition, the policy effect is stronger for low-income families.

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  • Meltem Dayıoğlu & Murat Güray Kırdar, 2022. "Keeping Kids in School and Out of Work: Compulsory Schooling and Child Labor in Turkey," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(4), pages 526-555.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jhucap:doi:10.1086/720008
    DOI: 10.1086/720008
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    Cited by:

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    2. Meltem Dayioglu & Murat Guray Kirdar & Ismet Koc, 2021. "The Making of a Lost Generation: Child Labor among Syrian Refugees in Turkey," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 2105, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    3. Aygun, Aysun Hiziroglu & Tirgil, Abdullah, 2024. "The Causal Impact of Education on Mental Health and Explanatory Mechanisms," EconStor Preprints 280901, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    4. Ã lvaro Choi, 2023. "The Impact of Compulsory Schooling Expansion on Educational Outcomes: The Case of Indonesia," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2023/452, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    5. Mahnaz Muhammad Ali & Mariam Abbas Soharwardi, 2022. "Economic Cost of Education and Behavior of Parents towards Child Labor," Journal of Economic Impact, Science Impact Publishers, vol. 4(1), pages 07-13.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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