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The consequences of child labor : evidence from longitudinal data in rural Tanzania

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  • Beegle, Kathleen
  • Dehejia, Rajeev H.
  • Gatti, Roberta
  • Krutikova, Sofya

Abstract

This paper exploits a unique longitudinal data set from Tanzania to examine the consequences of child labor on education, employment choices, and marital status over a 10-year horizon. Shocks to crop production and rainfall are used as instrumental variables for child labor. For boys, the findings show that a one-standard-deviation (5.7 hour) increase in child labor leads 10 years later to a loss of approximately one year of schooling and to a substantial increase in the likelihood of farming and of marrying at a younger age. Strikingly, there are no significant effects on education for girls, but there is a significant increase in the likelihood of marrying young. The findings also show that crop shocks lead to an increase in agricultural work for boys and instead lead to an increase in chore hours for girls. The results are consistent with education being a lower priority for girls and/or with chores causing less disruption for education than agricultural work. The increased chore hours could also account for the results on marriage for girls.

Suggested Citation

  • Beegle, Kathleen & Dehejia, Rajeev H. & Gatti, Roberta & Krutikova, Sofya, 2008. "The consequences of child labor : evidence from longitudinal data in rural Tanzania," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4677, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4677
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Patrick M. Emerson & Vladimir Ponczek & André Portela Souza, 2017. "Child Labor and Learning," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(2), pages 265-296.
    2. Korkeala, Outi & Newhouse, David & Duarte, Mafalda, 2009. "Distributional impact analysis of past climate variability in rural Indonesia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5070, The World Bank.
    3. Christelle Dumas, 2012. "Does Work Impede Child Learning? The Case of Senegal," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(4), pages 773-793.
    4. Denis Cogneau & Rémi Jedwab, 2012. "Commodity Price Shocks and Child Outcomes: The 1990 Cocoa Crisis in Côte d'Ivoire," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(3), pages 507-534.
    5. Kammas, Pantelis & Sakalis, Argyris & Sarantides, Vassilis, 2021. "Pudding, plague and education: trade and human capital formation in an agrarian economy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112206, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Bandara, Amarakoon & Dehejia, Rajeev & Lavie-Rouse, Shaheen, 2015. "The Impact of Income and Non-Income Shocks on Child Labor: Evidence from a Panel Survey of Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 218-237.
    7. DELPIERRE Matthieu & VERHEYDEN Bertrand & WEYNANTS Stéphanie, 2011. "On the interaction between risk-taking and risk-sharing under farm household wealth heterogeneity," LISER Working Paper Series 2011-35, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    8. World Bank, 2013. "Republic of Senegal : Safety Net Assessment [République du Sénégal : Évaluation des Filets Sociaux]," World Bank Publications - Reports 17575, The World Bank Group.
    9. Sofya Krutikova, 2010. "Who Gets to Stay in School? Long-run Impact of Income Shocks on Schooling in Rural Tanzania," Economics Series Working Papers CSAE WPS/2010-36, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    10. Aubrey Keeler Saunders & Samuel Brazys, 2022. "Does Distance Matter? Proximity to Exporting Firms on Child Labour and Education Rates: Evidence from Bangladesh," Working Papers 202206, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    11. Mussa, Essa Chanie & Mirzabaev, Alisher & Admassie, Assefa & Nshakira-Rukundo, Emmanuel & von Braun, Joachim, 2019. "Does childhood work impede long-term human capital accumulation? Empirical evidence from rural Ethiopia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 234-246.
    12. Ralitza Dimova & Gil S. Epstein & Ira N. Gang, 2015. "Migration, Transfers and Child Labor," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 735-747, August.
    13. Kofol, Chiara & Naghsh Nejad, Maryam, 2017. "Child Labor and the Arrival of Refugees: Evidence from Tanzania," IZA Discussion Papers 11242, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Long Thanh Giang & Cuong Viet Nguyen & Tuyen Quang Tran & Vu Thieu, 2017. "Does Firm Agglomeration Matter to Labor and Education of Local Children? Evidence in Vietnam," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(4), pages 1015-1041, December.
    15. Burrone, Sara & Giannelli, Gianna Claudia, 2019. "Does Child Labor Lead to Vulnerable Employment in Adulthood? Evidence for Tanzania," IZA Discussion Papers 12162, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Ahsanuzzaman, & Islam, Muhammad Q., 2020. "Children’s vulnerability to natural disasters: Evidence from natural experiments in Bangladesh," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    17. THIVILLON, Thomas, 2022. "Demand for informal caregiving and human capital accumulation: Evidence from elderly deaths in Senegal," SocArXiv m8k6b, Center for Open Science.
    18. Esperanza Márquez & Daniel Holgado & Isidro Maya-Jariego, 2019. "Innovation, Dosage and Responsiveness in the Implementation of the Program “Edúcame Primero Perú” for Reducing Child Labour," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 14(3), pages 617-636, July.
    19. Salvucci, Vincenzo & Santos, Ricardo, 2020. "Vulnerability to Natural Shocks: Assessing the Short-Term Impact on Consumption and Poverty of the 2015 Flood in Mozambique," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    20. Caroline Harper & Nicola Jones & Andy McKay, 2010. "Including Children in Policy Responses to Economic Crises," Working papers 1003, UNICEF,Division of Policy and Strategy.
    21. Delphine BOUTIN & Marine JOUVIN, 2022. "Child Labour Consequences on Education and Health: A Review of Evidence and Knowledge Gaps," Bordeaux Economics Working Papers 2022-14, Bordeaux School of Economics (BSE).
    22. Delphine Boutin & Marine Jouvin, 2022. "Child Labour Consequences on Education and Health: A Review of Evidence and Knowledge Gaps," Working Papers hal-03896700, HAL.
    23. Buonomo Zabaleta, Mariela, 2011. "The impact of child labor on schooling outcomes in Nicaragua," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1527-1539.

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    Keywords

    Street Children; Youth and Governance; Labor Policies; Labor Markets; Children and Youth;
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