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Child labour and academic achievement: Evidence from Gansu Province in China

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  • He, Huajing

Abstract

This paper considers the relationship between child labour and a child's academic achievement in rural China. Using a unique longitudinal, multi-level survey, the Gansu Survey of Children and Families (GSCF) which was enrolled in the Gansu province, I use a quasi-maximum likelihood estimation (QMLE) and find that more than 1h of child labour in the previous time period has a negative effect on a child's academic achievement in the subsequent period after controlling for child talent. I also show that previous academic achievement has no strong significant effect on current child labour by applying a logistic model. Based on the data, the fact that those effects are not very big or not significant suggests that child labour in China is not a big problem when compared with other developing countries (Bacolod & Ranjan 2008).

Suggested Citation

  • He, Huajing, 2016. "Child labour and academic achievement: Evidence from Gansu Province in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 130-150.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:38:y:2016:i:c:p:130-150
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2015.12.008
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    3. Can Tang & Liqiu Zhao & Zhong Zhao, 2020. "Does free education help combat child labor? The effect of a free compulsory education reform in rural China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(2), pages 601-631, April.
    4. Tang, Can & Zhao, Liqiu & Zhao, Zhong, 2018. "Child labor in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 149-166.
    5. 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).
    6. Hamenoo, Emma Seyram & Dwomoh, Emmanuel Aprakru & Dako-Gyeke, Mavis, 2018. "Child labour in Ghana: Implications for children's education and health," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 248-254.
    7. Cui, Ying & Liu, Hong & Zhao, Liqiu, 2019. "Mother's education and child development: Evidence from the compulsory school reform in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 669-692.
    8. Zhao, Liqiu & Wang, Fei & Zhao, Zhong, 2021. "Trade liberalization and child labor," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Child labour; Academic achievement; QMLE; Gansu;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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