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Child Labor and Household Wealth : Theory and Empirical Evidence of an Inverted-U
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Child Labor and Household Wealth : Theory and Empirical Evidence of an Inverted-U

Author

Listed:
  • Basu, Kaushik

    (Department of Economics, Cornell University and Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi)

  • Das, Sanghamitra

    (Indian Statistical Institute)

  • Dutta, Bhaskar

    (Department of Economics, Warwick University)

Abstract

Some studies on child labor have shown that, at the level of the household, greater land wealth leads to higher child labor, thereby casting doubt on the hypothesis that child labor is caused by poverty. This paper argues that the missing ingredient may be an explicit modeling of the labor market. We develop a simple model which suggests the possibility of an inverted-U relationship between land holdings and child labor. Using a unique data set that has child labor hours it is found that, controlling for child, household and village characteristics, the turning point beyond which more land leads to a decline in child labor occurs around 4 acres of land per household.

Suggested Citation

  • Basu, Kaushik & Das, Sanghamitra & Dutta, Bhaskar, 2009. "Child Labor and Household Wealth : Theory and Empirical Evidence of an Inverted-U," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 888, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:wrk:warwec:888
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    child labor ; land-holding ; labor markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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