Does Child Labor Always Decrease with Income? An Evaluation in the Context of a Development Program in Nicaragua

Del Carpio, Ximena V.

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCOUNT;    AGE GROUP;    AGE GROUPS;    ATTRITION;    CAPITAL INVESTMENTS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-4694
RP-ID  :  WPS4694

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper investigates the relationshipof household income with child labor. The analysis uses arich dataset obtained in the context of a conditional cashtransfer program in a poor region of Nicaragua in 2005 and2006. The program has a strong productive emphasis and seeksto diversify the work portfolio of beneficiaries whileimposing conditionalities on the household.The authordevelops a simple model that relates child labor tohousehold income, preferences, and production technology.It turns out that child labor does not always decrease withincome; the relationship is complex and exhibits aninverted-U shape. Applying the data to the model confirmsthat the relationship is concave when all children (8-15years of age) are included in the sample.Expanding theanalysis by stratifying the sample by age and gender showsthat the relationship holds only for older children, bothgenders. The author investigates the effect of theconditional cash transfer program on child labor. Theresults show that the program has a decreasing effect ontotal hours of work for the full sample of children.Disentangling labor into two types - physically demandinglabor and non-physical labor -reveals that the program hasopposite effects on each type; it decreases physicallydemanding labor while increasing participation innon-physical (more intellectually oriented) tasks for children.