Product boycott a good idea for controlling child labor? A theoretical investigation

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Product boycott a good idea for controlling child labor? A theoretical investigation

Author Info

Kaushik Basu () (Cornell University)
Homa Zarghamee () (Santa Clara University, Santa Clara)

Abstract

A popular form of action to curb child labor and uphold international labor standards in general is a `product boycott' by consumers. There are labeling agencies that inform us if, for instance, a carpet or a hand-stitched soccer ball is free of child labor. The presence of a consumer boycott will typically mean that products tainted by child labor will command a lower price on the market than ones certified to be untainted. It is popularly presumed that such consumer activism is desirable. The paper formally investigates this presumption and shows that consumer product boycotts can, in a wide class of situations, have an adverse reaction that causes child labor to rise rather than fall. This happens under weak and plausible assumptions. Hence, there has to be much greater caution in the use of consumer activism, and one has to have much more detailed information about the context where child labor occurs, before using a boycott.

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Paper provided by Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi, India in its series Indian Statistical Institute, Planning Unit, New Delhi Discussion Papers with number 08-09.

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Length: 19 pages
Date of creation: May 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:ind:isipdp:08-09

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
O12 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
K00 - Law and Economics - - General - - - General (including Data Sources and Description)
J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

Ranjan, Priya, 2001. "Credit constraints and the phenomenon of child labor," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 81-102, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Other versions:
- Ranjan, P., 1999. ""Credit Constraints and the Phenomenon of Child Labor"," Papers 98-99-12, California Irvine - School of Social Sciences.
Basu, Kaushik & Van, Pham Hoang, 1998. "The Economics of Child Labor," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 412-27, June.
Eric V. Edmonds & Nina Pavcnik, 2005. "Child Labor in the Global Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(1), pages 199-220, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Basu, Kaushik, 2005. "Child labor and the law: Notes on possible pathologies," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 169-174, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Other versions:
- Kaushik Basu, 2004. "Child labor and the Law: Notes on Possible Pathologies," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2052, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
Jafarey, Saqib & Lahiri, Sajal, 2002. "Will trade sanctions reduce child labour?: The role of credit markets," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 137-156, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Other versions:
- Saqib Jafarey & Sajal Lahiri, 1999. "Will trade sanctions reduce child labour? The role of credit markets," Economics Discussion Papers 500, University of Essex, Department of Economics.
Matthias Doepke & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2005. "The Macroeconomics of Child Labor Regulation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1492-1524, December. [Downloadable!]
Other versions:
- Matthias Doepke & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2005. "The macroeconomics of child labor regulation," Staff Report 354, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
Harald Grossmann & Jochen Michaelis, 2007. "Trade Sanctions and the Incidence of Child Labor," Review of Development Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 11(1), pages 49-62, 02. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Other versions:
- Harald Grossmann & Jochen Michaelis, 2004. "Trade Sanctions and the Incidence of Child Labour," Discussion Papers in Economics 54/04, University of Kassel, Institute of Economics. [Downloadable!]
Jean-Marie Baland & James A. Robinson, 2000. "Is Child Labor Inefficient?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(4), pages 663-679, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Arnab K. Basu & Nancy H. Chau & Ulrike Grote, 2006. "Guaranteed Manufactured without Child Labor: The Economics of Consumer Boycotts, Social Labeling and Trade Sanctions," Review of Development Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 10(3), pages 466-491, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Sylvain E. Dessy & Stéphane Pallage, 2005. "A Theory of the Worst Forms of Child Labour," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(500), pages 68-87, 01. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Dirk Krueger & Jessica Tjornhom Donohue, 2005. "On The Distributional Consequences Of Child Labor Legislation," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 46(3), pages 785-815, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Other versions:
- Dirk Krueger & Jessica Tjornhom Donohue, 2004. "On the Distributional Consequences of Child Labor Legislation," NBER Working Papers 10347, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
- Dirk Krueger, 2007. "On The Distributional Consequences Of Child Labor Legislation," Working Papers id:975, esocialsciences.com. [Downloadable!]

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Matthias Doepke & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2009. "Do International Labor Standards Contribute to the Persistence of the Child Labor Problem?," NBER Working Papers 15050, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Other versions:
- Doepke, Matthias & Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 2009. "Do International Labor Standards Contribute to the Persistence of the Child Labor Problem?," IZA Discussion Papers 4214, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]

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