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Eradicating the Crime of Child Labour in Africa: The Roles of Income, Schooling, Fertility, and Foreign Direct Investment

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  • Burhan, Nik Ahmad Sufian
  • Sidek, Abdul Halim
  • Ibrahim, Saifuzzaman

Abstract

African continent has the highest rate of child labour in the world. In this empirical study, we examined the impacts of income per capita, primary school enrolment, fertility rate, and the inward foreign direct investment (FDI) stock on the rate of child labour in Africa. We used the panel data on child labour that comprises of 44 African countries for the period 1980–2003 to assemble the largest number of observation on the variables employed. By employing the Panel Estimated Generalized Least Squares (EGLS) with cross-section weights method, the results of regression analysis showed that the raising of income per capita, FDI, and the percentage of school enrolment were highly significant in reducing the rate of child labour in Africa. Furthermore, a decrease in fertility rate was highly significant to curb the incidence of children employment in the labour market. The weighted-R2 of the panel regression was reported at 95.1%. Following the results, the role of government in implementing public policies was discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Burhan, Nik Ahmad Sufian & Sidek, Abdul Halim & Ibrahim, Saifuzzaman, 2016. "Eradicating the Crime of Child Labour in Africa: The Roles of Income, Schooling, Fertility, and Foreign Direct Investment," MPRA Paper 77250, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:77250
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kechagia, Polyxeni & Metaxas, Theodore, 2020. "FDI, child labor and gender issues in Sub – Saharan Africa: an empirical approach," MPRA Paper 104311, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    child labour; Africa; income; schooling; fertility; globalization; foreign direct investment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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