The impact of child work on cognitive development: results from four Low to Middle Income countries

Michael Keane (), Sonya Krutikova () and Timothy Neal
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Sonya Krutikova: Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies

No W18/29, IFS Working Papers from Institute for Fiscal Studies

Abstract: We study the relationship between child work and cognitive development in four Low and Middle Income Countries. We address a key weakness in the literature by including children’s full time-use vector in the analysis, which leads to different findings from previous studies which do not distinguish between alternative counter-factual activities. We find child work is only detrimental if it crowds out school/study time rather than leisure. Furthermore, the marginal effects of substituting domestic chores or economic activities for school/study time are similar. Thus, policies to enhance child development should target a shift from all forms of work toward educational activities.

Keywords: Child labour; Child development; Education; Time use; Item response theory; Value added models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-11-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ltv
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The impact of child work on cognitive development: results from four low to middle income countries (2020)
Working Paper: The Impact of Child Work on Cognitive Development: Results from Four Low to Middle Income Countries (2020)
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