Schools’ Feeding Programs and the Trade-off between Child Labor and Schooling: Evidence from BRIGHT Survey (original) (raw)
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Does promoting school attendance reduce child labor? Evidence from Burkina Faso's BRIGHT project
Economics of Education Review, 2014
Using data from BRIGHT, an integrated program that aims to improve school participation in rural communities in Burkina Faso, we investigate the impact of school subsidies and increased access to education on child work. Regression discontinuity estimates demonstrate that, while BRIGHT substantially improved school participation, it increased children's participation in economic activities and chores. This combination of increased school participation and work can be explained by the introduction of a simple non convexity in the standard model of altruistic utility maximizing households. If education programs are implemented to achieve a combination of increased school participation and a reduction in child work, they may either have to be combined with different interventions that effectively reduce child work or they may have to be tuned more carefully to the incentives and constraints the child laborer faces.
Does Promoting School Attendance Reduce Child Labour? Evidence from Burkina Faso's Bright Project
Using data from BRIGHT, an integrated program that aims to improve school participation in rural communities in Burkina Faso, we investigate the impact of school subsidies and increased access to education on child work. Regression discontinuity estimates demonstrate that, while BRIGHT substantially improved school participation, it increased children's participation in economic activities and chores. This combination of increased school participation and work can be explained by the introduction of a simple non convexity in the standard model of altruistic utility maximizing households. If education programs are implemented to achieve a combination of increased school participation and a reduction in child work, they may either have to be combined with different interventions that effectively reduce child work or they may have to be tuned more carefully to the incentives and constraints the child laborer faces.
Nature and Trade-off between Child Labour and Child Schooling in Rural Ethiopia
2008
This paper examines determinants of work participation and school attendance for children aged 7-15 using survey data from rural Ethiopia. To this effect, a bivariate probit model that addresses the interrelatedness of the two decisions is employed. Given the agrarian nature of the economy, especial focus is given to child labour on family farms and within the household. The trade-off between child labour and educational attainment is also analysed by estimating an equation for age-adjusted educational attainment of children. Male children are found to be more likely to attend school than female children implying gender bias. There is also some 'specialization' in child labour with females having a higher likelihood and intensity of participation in domestic chores while males having a higher likelihood as well as intensity of participation in market work. Besides, while male children are more likely to combine schooling with market work, their female counterparts are more l...
Child Labor and Schooling Decisions in Urban and Rural Areas
2003
Child labor is widespread in developing countries, but its causes are debatable. Poverty is considered the primary reason, but many theoretical and empirical analyses show that other factors, such as access to credit, school quality and labor market opportunities, play equal or even greater roles in child labor and schooling decisions. This study surveys the existing literature and, taking into account urban-rural divides, aims to shed light on the debate with empirical evidence from Nepal, Peru, and Zimbabwe. We find that while there is strong evidence that poverty drives child labor in rural areas, there is a general lack of support for poverty hypothesis in urban areas. This suggests that policies such as a ban on child labor in rural areas could have an adverse effect, as child labor decisions are more likely a response to poverty and subsistence requirements. Similarly improving access to credit has greater potential for alleviating child labor and enhancing school enrollment in rural than urban areas, particularly in Nepal and Zimbabwe. On the other hand, the availability of alternative childcare options appears to considerably decrease child labor and create conditions for higher school attendance rates in urban than rural areas. Finally, the evidence from all three countries indicates that efforts to bolster adult educational levels and wages will help curb the prevalence and intensity of child labor and improve the likelihood that children stay in school.
Child labor and schooling decisions in urban and rural areas: comparative evidence from
2005
Child labor is widespread in developing countries, but its causes are debatable. Poverty is considered the primary reason, but many theoretical and empirical analyses show that other factors, such as access to credit, school quality and labor market opportunities, play equal or even greater roles in child labor and schooling decisions. This study surveys the existing literature and, taking into account urban-rural divides, aims to shed light on the debate with empirical evidence from Nepal, Peru, and Zimbabwe. We find that while there is strong evidence that poverty drives child labor in rural areas, there is a general lack of support for poverty hypothesis in urban areas. This suggests that policies such as a ban on child labor in rural areas could have an adverse effect, as child labor decisions are more likely a response to poverty and subsistence requirements. Similarly improving access to credit has greater potential for alleviating child labor and enhancing school enrollment in rural than urban areas, particularly in Nepal and Zimbabwe. On the other hand, the availability of alternative childcare options appears to considerably decrease child labor and create conditions for higher school attendance rates in urban than rural areas. Finally, the evidence from all three countries indicates that efforts to bolster adult educational levels and wages will help curb the prevalence and intensity of child labor and improve the likelihood that children stay in school.
Child Labor and Schooling Decisions in Urban and Rural Areas: Cross-Country Evidence
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2003
Child labor is widespread in developing countries, but its causes are debatable. Poverty is considered the primary reason, but many theoretical and empirical analyses show that other factors, such as access to credit, school quality and labor market opportunities, play equal or even greater roles in child labor and schooling decisions. This study surveys the existing literature and, taking into account urban-rural divides, aims to shed light on the debate with empirical evidence from Nepal, Peru, and Zimbabwe. We find that while there is strong evidence that poverty drives child labor in rural areas, there is a general lack of support for poverty hypothesis in urban areas. This suggests that policies such as a ban on child labor in rural areas could have an adverse effect, as child labor decisions are more likely a response to poverty and subsistence requirements. Similarly improving access to credit has greater potential for alleviating child labor and enhancing school enrollment in rural than urban areas, particularly in Nepal and Zimbabwe. On the other hand, the availability of alternative childcare options appears to considerably decrease child labor and create conditions for higher school attendance rates in urban than rural areas. Finally, the evidence from all three countries indicates that efforts to bolster adult educational levels and wages will help curb the prevalence and intensity of child labor and improve the likelihood that children stay in school.
American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2016
We estimate the effects of changes in cotton adoption on children's schooling and child labor in rural Burkina Faso. Cotton adoption increases household's income, leading to increased demand for schooling and reduced child labor. On the other hand, because children are productive on cotton farms, cotton adoption increases the opportunity cost of child time and the demand for child labor. Using time and spatial variation, we find evidence of a strong effect on school enrollment and child labor for girls but no detectable effect on boys. We provide suggestive evidence showing that boys are more productive than girls on cotton farms. Therefore, the income effect from cotton adoption was larger than the wage effect for girls, hence the positive effect on enrollment.
Child labor, schooling, and child ability
2012
Using data collected in rural Burkina Faso, this paper examines how children's cognitive abilities influence households'decisions to invest in their education. To address the endogeneity of child ability measures, the analysis usesrainfall shocks experienced in utero or early childhood to instrument for ability. Negative shocks in utero lead to 0.24 standard deviations lower ability z-scores, corresponding with a 38 percent
World Development, 2005
Child labor is widespread in developing countries, but its causes are debatable. Poverty is considered the primary reason, but many theoretical and empirical analyses show that other factors, such as access to credit, school quality and labor market opportunities, play equal or even greater roles in child labor and schooling decisions. This study surveys the existing literature and, taking into account urban-rural divides, aims to shed light on the debate with empirical evidence from Nepal, Peru, and Zimbabwe. We find that while there is strong evidence that poverty drives child labor in rural areas, there is a general lack of support for poverty hypothesis in urban areas. This suggests that policies such as a ban on child labor in rural areas could have an adverse effect, as child labor decisions are more likely a response to poverty and subsistence requirements. Similarly improving access to credit has greater potential for alleviating child labor and enhancing school enrollment in rural than urban areas, particularly in Nepal and Zimbabwe. On the other hand, the availability of alternative childcare options appears to considerably decrease child labor and create conditions for higher school attendance rates in urban than rural areas. Finally, the evidence from all three countries indicates that efforts to bolster adult educational levels and wages will help curb the prevalence and intensity of child labor and improve the likelihood that children stay in school.