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Consumer boycott, household heterogeneity and child labour

Author

Listed:
  • Michele DI MAIO

    (Department of Economic Studies, University of Naples Parthenope and HiCN)

  • Giorgio FABBRI

    (Department of Economic Studies, University of Naples Parthenope)

Abstract
Consumer boycott campaigns against goods produced using child labour are becoming increasingly popular. Notwithstanding, there is no consensus on which are the effects of such type of activism on child labour. If some agreement is to be found in the recent economic literature, it is that the boycott does not reduce child labour. We contribute to this debate presenting a simple model which shows, instead, that there are conditions under which a consumer product boycott does reduce child labour. We consider a small country two-factor economy populated by heterogeneous households. The boycott affects both the adult and the child labour markets. The income distribution determines how these changes affect child labour at the household level. We derive the conditions under which the consumer boycott reduces child labour also for some of the households whose' income is - before the boycott - under the subsistence level.

Suggested Citation

  • Michele DI MAIO & Giorgio FABBRI, 2010. "Consumer boycott, household heterogeneity and child labour," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2010036, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    • Handle: RePEc:ctl:louvir:2010036
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Basu, Arnab K. & Dimova, Ralitza, 2021. "Household Preferences and Child Labor in Rural Ethiopia," IZA Discussion Papers 14062, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Consumer product boycott; child labour; household heterogeneity; income distribution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • C35 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions

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