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Is Child Labor Harmful? The Impact of Working Earlier in Life on Adult Earnings

Author

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  • Emerson, Patrick M.

    (Oregon State University)

  • Portela Souza, André

    (Sao Paulo School of Economics)

Abstract

This paper explores the question: is working as a child harmful to an individual in terms of adult outcomes in earnings? Though an extremely important question, little is known about the effect of child labor on adult outcomes. Estimations of an instrumental variables earnings model on data from Brazil show that child labor has a large negative impact on adult earnings for male children even when controlling for schooling and that the negative impact of starting to work as a child reverses at around ages 12-14.

Suggested Citation

  • Emerson, Patrick M. & Portela Souza, André, 2007. "Is Child Labor Harmful? The Impact of Working Earlier in Life on Adult Earnings," IZA Discussion Papers 3027, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3027
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    adult outcomes; Brazil; child labor;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O54 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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