The Long-term Effects of Child Labour Legislation: Evidence from Britain’s 1860 Mining Act

Benjamin Milner

No 2026-07, Working Papers from University of Alberta, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper breaks new ground in tracing the effects of historical child labour reform from childhood through to adulthood. I first show that by decreasing the opportunity cost and increasing the returns to schooling, Britain’s 1860 Mining Act led to increased human capital acquisition among the children of coal miners. Then, using full-count census records linked across decades, I demonstrate that positive effects extended well into adulthood, as these same children became significantly more likely to obtain high skill, human capital-intensive occupations.

Keywords: Child Labour; Education; UK; Resource Industry; Compulsory Schooling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I28 J24 N13 N33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 90
Date: 2026-06
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:albaec:023032

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