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International Labor Standards and the Political Economy of Child Labor Regulation

Author

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  • Doepke, Matthias

    (Northwestern University)

  • Zilibotti, Fabrizio

    (Yale University)

Abstract

Child labor is a persistent phenomenon in many developing countries. In recent years, support has been growing among rich-country governments and consumer groups for the use of trade policies, such as product boycotts and the imposition of international labor standards, to reduce child labor in poor countries. In this paper, we discuss research on the long-run implications of such policies. In particular, we demonstrate that such measures may have the unintended side effect of lowering domestic support for banning child labor within developing countries, and thus may contribute to the persistence of the child-labor problem.

Suggested Citation

  • Doepke, Matthias & Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 2008. "International Labor Standards and the Political Economy of Child Labor Regulation," IZA Discussion Papers 3742, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3742
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kaushik Basu, 1999. "Child Labor: Cause, Consequence, and Cure, with Remarks on International Labor Standards," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(3), pages 1083-1119, September.
    2. Matthias Doepke, "undated". "Origins and Consequences of Child Labor Restrictions: A Macroeconomic Perspective," UCLA Economics Online Papers 413, UCLA Department of Economics.
    3. Kaushik Basu, 1999. "International Labor Standards and Child Labor," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(5), pages 80-93, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Development economics needs to refocus on theory
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2009-04-10 18:35:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Doepke, M. & Tertilt, M., 2016. "Families in Macroeconomics," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1789-1891, Elsevier.
    2. Maria Micaela Sviatschi, 2022. "Making a NARCO: Childhood Exposure to Illegal Labor Markets and Criminal Life Paths," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(4), pages 1835-1878, July.
    3. Congdon Fors, Heather, 2024. "Child Labour Background, Challenges, and the Role of Research in Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 8.7," Working Papers in Economics 840, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    4. Fabre, Alice & Pallage, Stéphane, 2015. "Child labor, idiosyncratic shocks, and social policy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 394-411.
    5. Heather Congdon Fors, 2012. "Child Labour: A Review Of Recent Theory And Evidence With Policy Implications," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 570-593, September.
    6. Soumya Sahin & Ambar Nath Ghosh, 2016. "Effect of Ban on Exports Containing Child Labour in a Dynamic Model in Presence of Imperfect Monitoring," Foreign Trade Review, , vol. 51(1), pages 26-45, February.
    7. Eric V. Edmonds, 2014. "Does minimum age of employment regulation reduce child labor?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-73, July.
    8. Kozhaya, Mireille & Martínez Flores, Fernanda, 2022. "Child Labor Bans, Employment, and School Attendance: Evidence from Changes in the Minimum Working Age," IZA Discussion Papers 15144, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Congdon Fors, Heather, 2012. "Social Globalization and Child Labor," Working Papers in Economics 533, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    10. Atul MEHTA & Joysankar BHATTACHARYA, 2019. "What discriminates the welfare outcomes of children in India. A multiple discriminant analysis in selected states," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania - AGER, vol. 0(2(619), S), pages 261-276, Summer.
    11. Talia Bar & Kaushik Basu, 2009. "Children, Education, Labor, and Land: In The Long Run and Short Run," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 7(2-3), pages 487-497, 04-05.
    12. Heather Congdon Fors, 2014. "Social Globalization and Child Labor: A Cross-country Analysis," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 52(2), pages 125-153, June.
    13. Kozhaya, Mireille & Martinez Flores, Fernanda, 2022. "Child labor bans, employment, and school attendance: Evidence from changes in the minimum working age," Ruhr Economic Papers 942, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    14. Furio Camillo Rosati, 2022. "Child Labour Theories and Policies," CEIS Research Paper 533, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 15 Mar 2022.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    political economy; child labor; trade sanctions; international labor standards;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J88 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Public Policy
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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