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Child Labor and School Achievement in Latin America

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Author Info
Gunnarsson, Victoria
Orazem, Peter
Sanchez, Mario A.

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Abstract

Child labor’s effect on academic achievement is estimated, using unique data on 3rd and 4th graders in 9 Latin American countries. Cross-country variation in truancy regulations provides an exogenous shift in the ages of children normally in these grades, providing exogenous variation in opportunity cost of child time. Least-squares estimates of the impact of child labor on test scores are biased downward, but corrected estimates are still negative and statistically significant. Children working one standard deviation above the mean have average scores that are 16% lower on mathematics exams and 11% lower on language exams, consistent with estimates of the adverse impact of child labor on returns to schooling.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Iowa State University, Department of Economics in its series Staff General Research Papers with number 10684.

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Length: 24 pages
Date of creation: 18 Aug 2003
Date of revision:
Publication status: Published in World Bank Economic Review, January 2006, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 31-54.
Handle: RePEc:isu:genres:10684

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Postal: Iowa State University, Dept. of Economics, 260 Heady Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1070
Phone: +1 515.294.6741
Fax: +1 515.294.0221
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Web page: http://www.econ.iastate.edu
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Related research
Keywords: Child Labor; Test Scores; Latin America; Truancy law;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor

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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.:
  1. Ronald G. Ehrenberg & Daniel R. Sherman, 1987. "Employment While in College, Academic Achievement and Post-College Outcomes: A Summary of Results," NBER Working Papers 1742, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. George Psacharopoulos, 1997. "Child labor versus educational attainment Some evidence from Latin America," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 377-386. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. George Psacharopoulos & Harry Anthony Patrinos, 1997. "Family size, schooling and child labor in Peru - An empirical analysis," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 387-405. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Angrist, Joshua D & Krueger, Alan B, 1991. "Does Compulsory School Attendance Affect Schooling and Earnings?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 106(4), pages 979-1014, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Paul Glewwe, 2002. "Schools and Skills in Developing Countries: Education Policies and Socioeconomic Outcomes," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 436-482, June.
  6. Basu, Kaushik & Van, Pham Hoang, 1998. "The Economics of Child Labor," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 412-27, June.
  7. Hanushek, Eric A, 1995. "Interpreting Recent Research on Schooling in Developing Countries," World Bank Research Observer, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(2), pages 227-46, August.
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  8. 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)
  9. Card, David, 1999. "The causal effect of education on earnings," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 30, pages 1801-1863 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Psacharopoulos, George, 1994. "Returns to investment in education: A global update," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(9), pages 1325-1343, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Ravallion, Martin & Wodon, Quentin, 1999. "Does child labor displace schooling? - evidence on behavioral responses to an enrollment subsidy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2116, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Glewwe, Paul, 1996. "The relevance of standard estimates of rates of return to schooling for education policy: A critical assessment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 267-290, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Rosenzweig, Mark R & Evenson, Robert E, 1977. "Fertility, Schooling, and the Economic Contribution of Children in Rural India: An Econometric Analysis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 45(5), pages 1065-79, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Ralph Stinebrickner & Todd R. Stinebrickner, 2003. "Working during School and Academic Performance," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 449-472, April. [Downloadable!]
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  15. Moll, Peter G, 1998. "Primary Schooling, Cognitive Skills and Wages in South Africa," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 65(258), pages 263-84, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. John H. Tyler, 2003. "Using State Child Labor Laws to Identify the Effect of School-Year Work on High School Achievement," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 353-380, April. [Downloadable!]
  17. Kremer, Michael R, 1995. "Research on Schooling: What We Know and What We Don't: A Comment," World Bank Research Observer, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(2), pages 247-54, August.
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Cited by:
(explanations, 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.)

  1. Diana Kruger & Rodrigo R. Soares & Matias Berthelon, 2007. "Household Choices of Child Labor and Schooling: A Simple Model with Application to Brazil," IZA Discussion Papers 2776, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  2. Cardoso, Ana Rute & Verner, Dorte, 2007. "School drop-out and push-out factors in Brazil : the role of early parenthood, child labor, and poverty," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4178, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Bezerra, Márcio Eduardo G. & Kassouf, Ana Lucia & Arends-Kuenning, Mary P., 2009. "The Impact of Child Labor and School Quality on Academic Achievement in Brazil," IZA Discussion Papers 4062, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Khanam, Rasheda & Ross, Russell, 2005. "Impact of Child Labour on School Attendance and School Attainment: Evidence from Bangladesh
    [Child Work and Other Determinants of School Attendance and School Attainment in Bangladesh]    ," MPRA Paper 9397, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Apr 2008. [Downloadable!]
  5. Patrinos, Harry Anthony & Shafiq, M. Najeeb, 2008. "A positive stigma for child labor ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4697, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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