Wealth-induced child labour: evidence from Ethiopia

Purpose - This study aims to empirically test the variation in household assets and the incidence of child labour using data from Ethiopia. Design/methodology/approach - The study was cross-sectional in design and used a sample of 3,500 observations (children aged 5–17 years) collected from 2,231 households in the rural and urban areas of Amhara and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' regions in Ethiopia. The logistic regression model was used to estimate the extent to which predictor variables are associated with the incidence of child labour. Findings - The results indicate statistically significant child labour participation by those households who own assets than those who do not. The findings suggest that parents who own assets such as land, livestock and other endowments are likely to employ children in labour than the opposite, i.e. child labour increases with household asset ownership. However, this study did not investigate child labour response to wealth increment at the individual household level. Practical implications - Any initiative to reduce child labour needs to be accompanied by parental awareness and compulsory schooling as one of the key policy tools. Originality/value - This is one of those studies that question the poverty assumption as a cause of child labour and suggests parental selfishness playing a role in accentuating child labour.