Papers, please! The effect of birth registration on child labor and education in early 20th century USA

Sonja Fagernäs ()

Explorations in Economic History, 2014, vol. 52, issue C, 63-92

Abstract: A birth certificate establishes a child's legal identity and age, but few quantitative estimates of the significance of birth registration exist. Birth registration laws were enacted by U.S. states in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Using 1910–1930 census data, this study finds that minimum working age legislation was twice as effective in reducing under-aged employment if children had been born with a birth registration law, with positive implications for school attendance. There is some evidence that registration laws also improved the enforcement of schooling laws for younger children. A retrospective analysis with the 1960 census shows that the long-term effect of registration laws was to increase educational attainment by approximately 0.1years.

Keywords: Birth registration; Child labor; Compulsory schooling; Legal enforcement; Institutions; Economic history (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N31 N32 N41 N42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:exehis:v:52:y:2014:i:c:p:63-92

DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2013.09.002

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