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Child labor in Cote d'Ivoire: incidence and determinants

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  • Grootaert, Christiaan

Abstract

Child labor in Cote d'Ivoire increased in the 1980s because of a severe economic crisis. Two out of three urban children aged 7 to 17 work; half of them also attend school. In rural areas, more than four out of five children work, but only a third of them manage to combine work with schooling. Full-time work is less prevalent, but not negligible. Roughly 7 percent of urban children work full time (an average 46 hours a week). More than a third of rural children work full time (an average of 35 hours a week), with the highest incidence in the Savannah region. The incidence of such full-time work rises with age but is by no means limited to older children. The average age of the full-time child worker in Cote d'Ivoire is 12.7. These children have received an average 1.2 years of schooling. That child is also more likely to be ill or injured and is less likely to receive medical attention than other children. Urban children in the interior cities are far more likely to work and their working hours are much longer. Among rural children, those in the Savannah region (where educational infrastructure lags far behind the rest of the country) are most likely to work. Five factors affect a household's decision to supply child labor: a) The age and gender of the child (girls are more likely to work, especially when the head of household is a woman). b) The education and employment status of the parents (low parental education is good targeting variable for interventions). c) The availability of within-household employment opportunities. d) The household's poverty status. e) The household's location (calling for geographical targeting). With improved macroeconomic growth, it is hoped, child labor will decline -- but a significant decline could take several generations. Meanwhile, it is important to: i) Use a gradual approach toward the elimination of child work by aiming initial interventions at facilitating combined work and schooling. ii) Support the development of home enterprises as part of poverty alleviation programs, but combine it with incentives for school attendance. iii) Make school hours and vacation periods flexible (accommodating harvest times) in rural areas. This would also improve children's health. iv) Improve rural school attendance by having a school in the village rather than 1 to 5 kilometers away. v) Improve educational investment in the Savannah.

Suggested Citation

  • Grootaert, Christiaan, 1998. "Child labor in Cote d'Ivoire: incidence and determinants," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1905, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:1905
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Dancer, Diane M. & Rammohan, Anu, 2004. "The Determinants of Schooling in Egypt: The Role of Gender and Rural-Urban Residence," Working Papers 1, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    2. Ray, Ranjan, 2000. "Child Labor, Child Schooling, and Their Interaction with Adult Labor: Empirical Evidence for Peru and Pakistan," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 14(2), pages 347-367, May.
    3. Ravallion, Martin & Wodon, Quentin, 2000. "Does Child Labour Displace Schooling? Evidence on Behavioural Responses to an Enrollment Subsidy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(462), pages 158-175, March.
    4. 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.
    5. Jean-Pierre Lachaud, 2008. "Le travail des enfants et la pauvreté en Afrique : un réexamen appliqué au Burkina Faso," Economie & Prévision, La Documentation Française, vol. 0(5), pages 47-65.
    6. Dancer, Diane M. & Rammohan, Anu, 2004. "Gender Differences in Schooling Attainment: The Role of Sibling Characteristics and Birth Order Effects," Working Papers 5, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    7. Drusilla K. Brown & Alan V. Deardorff & Robert M. Stern, 2009. "U.S. Trade and Other Policy Options and Programs to Deter Foreign Exploitation of Child Labor," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization And International Trade Policies, chapter 18, pages 689-743, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Assefa, Admassie, 2006. "The Implications of Asset Ownership on Child Work in Rural Ethiopia," Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Ethiopian Economics Association, vol. 11(2), pages 105-105, June.
    9. Jafarey, Saqib & Maiti, Dibyendu, 2015. "Glass slippers and glass ceilings: An analysis of marital anticipation and female education," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 45-61.
    10. Daniela Zapata & Dante Contreras, 2004. "Child labor in Bolivia: schooling, gender and ethnic groups," Econometric Society 2004 Latin American Meetings 224, Econometric Society.
    11. Serra, Renata, 2009. "Child fostering in Africa: When labor and schooling motives may coexist," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 157-170, January.
    12. Abou, Pokou Edouard, 2015. "Incidence du travail domestique, des caractéristiques de l’école et du ménage sur les résultats scolaires des filles en Côte d’Ivoire [Incidence of domestic work, school and household characteristi," MPRA Paper 43976, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Lorena Alcazar & Silvio Rendon & Erik Wachtenheim, 2002. "Working and Studying in Rural Latin America: Critical Decisions of Adolescence," Research Department Publications 3162, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.

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