 BREAKING THE NET: FAMILY STRUCTURE AND STREET CHILDREN IN ZAMBIAClaudia Olivetti,
Francesco Strobbe and
Mireille Jacobson
No WP2011-042, Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series from Boston University - Department of Economics Abstract: Drawing on original fieldwork in the slums of Ndola in Northern Zambia we study the role of family structure in caring for vulnerable children. We try to isolate those features of a child’s nuclear and extended family that put him most at risk of ending up on the streets. We find that older, male children and particularly orphaned children are more likely to wind up on the street. Families with a male household head who is in poor health are more likely to originate street children. The educational level, age and employment status of the male head of household has little impact on the likelihood a child has taken to the street. In contrast, households with surviving maternal grandparents or with a male head who has many sisters are significantly less likely to originate street children. These findings support the critical role that women play in poor countries and highlight the importance of policies aimed at empowering women. At the same time, our findings suggest that policies aimed at improving the health of the male head of household can also yield important benefits. Pages: 33 pages There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bos:wpaper:wp2011-042 Access Statistics for this paper More papers in Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series from Boston University - Department of Economics Contact information at EDIRC. |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.