The Role of Social Norms in Child Labor and Schooling in India

Rubiana Chamarbagwala and Rusty Tchernis

No 2006-016, CAEPR Working Papers from Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research, Department of Economics, Indiana University Bloomington

Abstract: This paper aims to summarize the unexplained propensity of children to engage in work, school, or neither. After controlling for a wide range of determinants of child labor, schooling, and idleness, we estimate a hierarchical model that allows for heteroskedastic, spatially correlated random effects. We use the posterior distribution of ranks of random effects to capture social norms toward children’s activities in each district and thus identify those Indian districts where social attitudes favor education and oppose child labor and idleness. We propose that government intervention be targeted at districts with pro-schooling, anti-child-labor, and anti-idleness social attitudes if limited government resources necessitate implementing minimal cost policies that have the greatest potential to succeed.

Keywords: Child Labor; Education; Spatial Dependence; Social Norms; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35 pages
Date: 2006-10
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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