[go: up one dir, main page]

IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ctl/louvde/v87y2021i4p561-587.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating the Long-Term Effects of Child Labor on Household Poverty and Food Insecurity in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Monica Puoma LAMBON-QUAYEFIO

    (University of Ghana)

  • Nkechi S. OWOO

    (University of Ghana)

Abstract
This paper explores the extent to which child labor perpetuates the cycle of household poverty, as well as food insecurity using the sixth round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey. The study employs a counterfactual framework and an endogenous treatment effect econometric technique to accurately examine the causal link between child labor and long-term household poverty and food security. Results suggest a positive relationship between early paid work and long-term poverty and food insecurity. This finding provides empirical evidence to indicate that child labor has the potential to create and perpetuate poverty traps. From a policy perspective, findings from this study also contribute to the modern policy debates surrounding the achievement of the sustainable development goals on reducing poverty and hunger in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Monica Puoma LAMBON-QUAYEFIO & Nkechi S. OWOO, 2021. "Investigating the Long-Term Effects of Child Labor on Household Poverty and Food Insecurity in Ghana," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 87(4), pages 561-587, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:ctl:louvde:v:87:y:2021:i:4:p:561-587
    DOI: 10.1017/dem.2020.29
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/dem.2020.29
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1017/dem.2020.29?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Galiani, Sebastian & McEwan, Patrick J., 2013. "The heterogeneous impact of conditional cash transfers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 85-96.
    2. Tang, Can & Zhao, Liqiu & Zhao, Zhong, 2018. "Child labor in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 149-166.
    3. Heady, Christopher, 2003. "The Effect of Child Labor on Learning Achievement," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 385-398, February.
    4. Basu, Kaushik & Van, Pham Hoang, 1998. "The Economics of Child Labor," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 412-427, June.
    5. de Janvry, Alain & Finan, Frederico & Sadoulet, Elisabeth & Vakis, Renos, 2006. "Can conditional cash transfer programs serve as safety nets in keeping children at school and from working when exposed to shocks?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 349-373, April.
    6. Kathleen Beegle & Rajeev Dehejia & Roberta Gatti, 2009. "Why Should We Care About Child Labor?: The Education, Labor Market, and Health Consequences of Child Labor," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(4).
    7. Cattaneo, Matias D., 2010. "Efficient semiparametric estimation of multi-valued treatment effects under ignorability," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 155(2), pages 138-154, April.
    8. Can Tang & Liqiu Zhao & Zhong Zhao, 2019. "Free Education Helps Combat Child Labor? The Effect of a Free Compulsory Education Reform in Rural China," Working Papers 2019-036, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    9. Emerson, Patrick M. & Souza, André Portela, 2008. "Birth Order, Child Labor, and School Attendance in Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 1647-1664, September.
    10. Fang Hai & Miller Nolan H. & Rizzo John & Zeckhauser Richard, 2011. "Demanding Customers: Consumerist Patients and Quality of Care," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-51, September.
    11. Reagan A. Baughman & Kristin E. Smith, 2012. "Labor Mobility Of The Direct Care Workforce: Implications For The Provision Of Long‐Term Care," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(12), pages 1402-1415, December.
    12. Ranjan Ray, 2000. "Analysis of child labour in Peru and Pakistan: A comparative study," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 13(1), pages 3-19.
    13. Jean-Marie Baland & James A. Robinson, 2000. "Is Child Labor Inefficient?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(4), pages 663-679, August.
    14. Hideo Akabayashi & George Psacharopoulos, 1999. "The trade-off between child labour and human capital formation: A Tanzanian case study," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(5), pages 120-140.
    15. Hausman, Jerry, 2015. "Specification tests in econometrics," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 38(2), pages 112-134.
    16. Jacobus de Hoop & Furio C. Rosati, 2014. "Cash Transfers and Child Labor," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 29(2), pages 202-234.
    17. Francisco H. G. Ferreira & Deon Filmer & Norbert Schady, 2017. "Own and Sibling Effects of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: Theory and Evidence from Cambodia1," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Research on Economic Inequality, volume 25, pages 259-298, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    18. Eric Edmonds, 2006. "Understanding sibling differences in child labor," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 19(4), pages 795-821, October.
    19. Blundell,R. W. & Preston,Ian & Walker,Ian (ed.), 1994. "The Measurement of Household Welfare," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521451956, September.
    20. Parikh, Anokhi & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2005. "The Effect of Parents' Occupation on Child Labor and School Attendance in Brazil," CUDARE Working Papers 25045, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    21. Joseph V. Terza & Donald S. Kenkel & Tsui‐Fang Lin & Shinichi Sakata, 2008. "Care‐giver advice as a preventive measure for drinking during pregnancy: zeros, categorical outcome responses, and endogeneity," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(1), pages 41-54, January.
    22. Beegle, Kathleen & Dehejia, Rajeev H. & Gatti, Roberta, 2006. "Child labor and agricultural shocks," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 80-96, October.
    23. Emerson, Patrick M & Souza, Andre Portela, 2003. "Is There a Child Labor Trap? Intergenerational Persistence of Child Labor in Brazil," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(2), pages 375-398, January.
    24. Grabowski, David C. & Feng, Zhanlian & Hirth, Richard & Rahman, Momotazur & Mor, Vincent, 2013. "Effect of nursing home ownership on the quality of post-acute care: An instrumental variables approach," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 12-21.
    25. Idris Isyaku Abdullahi & Zaleha Mohd Noor & Rusmawati Said & Ahmad Zubaidi Baharumshah, 2016. "Does Poverty Influence Prevalence of Child Labor in Developing Countries?," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 6(1), pages 7-12.
    26. E. delap, 2001. "Economic and Cultural Forces in the Child Labour Debate: Evidence from Urban Bangladesh," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(4), pages 1-22.
    27. Diganta Mukherjee & Saswati Das, 2008. "Role of Parental Education in Schooling and Child Labour Decision: Urban India in the Last Decade," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(2), pages 305-322, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Edmonds, Eric V., 2008. "Child Labor," Handbook of Development Economics, in: T. Paul Schultz & John A. Strauss (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 57, pages 3607-3709, Elsevier.
    2. Tang, Can & Zhao, Liqiu & Zhao, Zhong, 2019. "Free Education Helps Combat Child Labor? The Effect of a Free Compulsory Education Reform in Rural China," IZA Discussion Papers 12374, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Can Tang & Liqiu Zhao & Zhong Zhao, 2020. "Does free education help combat child labor? The effect of a free compulsory education reform in rural China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(2), pages 601-631, April.
    4. Dammert, Ana C. & de Hoop, Jacobus & Mvukiyehe, Eric & Rosati, Furio C., 2018. "Effects of public policy on child labor: Current knowledge, gaps, and implications for program design," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 104-123.
    5. Tang, Can & Zhao, Zhong, 2023. "Informal institution meets child development: Clan culture and child labor in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 277-294.
    6. Congdon Fors, Heather, 2024. "Child Labour Background, Challenges, and the Role of Research in Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 8.7," Working Papers in Economics 840, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    7. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Iqbal, Nasir & Nawaz, Saima & Yew, Siew Ling, 2021. "Unconditional cash transfers, child labour and education: theory and evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 437-457.
    8. Krisztina Kis-Katos, 2012. "Gender differences in work-schooling decisions in rural North India," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 491-519, December.
    9. Heather Congdon Fors, 2012. "Child Labour: A Review Of Recent Theory And Evidence With Policy Implications," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 570-593, September.
    10. Ellen Webbink & Jeroen Smits & Eelke Jong, 2013. "Household and Context Determinants of Child Labor in 221 Districts of 18 Developing Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(2), pages 819-836, January.
    11. Karina Acevedo González & Raúl Quejada Pérez & Martha Yánez Contreras, 2011. "Determinantes y consecuencias del trabajo infantil: un análisis de la literatura," Revista Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, June.
    12. 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.
    13. Fabre, Alice & Pallage, Stéphane, 2015. "Child labor, idiosyncratic shocks, and social policy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 394-411.
    14. Sim, Armand & Suryadarma, Daniel & Suryahadi, Asep, 2017. "The Consequences of Child Market Work on the Growth of Human Capital," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 144-155.
    15. Patrick M. Emerson & André Portela Souza, 2011. "Is Child Labor Harmful? The Impact of Working Earlier in Life on Adult Earnings," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(2), pages 345-385.
    16. Edmonds, Eric V. & Shrestha, Maheshwor, 2014. "You get what you pay for: Schooling incentives and child labor," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 196-211.
    17. Drusilla K. Brown & Alan V. Deardorff & Robert M. Stern, 2009. "The Effects of Multinational Production on Wages and Working Conditions in Developing Countries," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization And International Trade Policies, chapter 17, pages 623-687, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    18. Jinnat Ara & Dipanwita Sarkar & Jayanta Sarkar, 2021. "Like mother like daughter? Occupational mobility among children under asset transfer program in Bangladesh," QuBE Working Papers 061, QUT Business School.
    19. Rafael Novella & Claire Zanuso, 2018. "Reallocating children’s time: coping strategies after the 2010 Haiti earthquake," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-32, December.
    20. Ana Dammert, 2010. "Siblings, child labor, and schooling in Nicaragua and Guatemala," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(1), pages 199-224, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Child labor; Endogenous treatment; Food insecurity; Poverty trap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ctl:louvde:v:87:y:2021:i:4:p:561-587. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sebastien SCHILLINGS (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iruclbe.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.