Targeting Child Labor in Debt Bondage : Evidence, Theory, and Policy Implications

Basu, Arnab K. ; Chau, Nancy H.

Washington, DC:World Bank

关键词: ABSENCE OF CREDIT;    ACCESS TO CREDIT;    ACCESS TO FORMAL CREDIT;    ACCOUNT;    ACCOUNTING;   

DOI  :  10.1093/wber/lhg020
RP-ID  :  77411

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Despite recent multilateral efforts tosingle out child labor in debt bondage as one of the worstforms of child labor, several important questions have yetto be addressed: How pervasive is the phenomenon? Are theresystematic correlations between the incidence of children indebt bondage and the economic, legislative, and financialdevelopment indicators of the economy? How does anunderstanding of these correlates affect the way nationaland international policy measures aimed at targeting thisform of child labor are perceived? This article addresseseach of these questions. The empirical findings suggeststrong correlation between the likelihood of the incidenceof child labor in debt bondage with the stage of developmentof an economy, the stage of financial development, andenforcement of core labor rights. Building on this evidence,the article presents a theoretical model that highlights thedrawbacks and merits of a number of policies aimed atputting checks on child labor in debt bondage.