You are on page 1of 6

Heidi V. Elizes III- BS LM Ec111-M Dr.

Connie Dacuycuy Review of Related Literature on the Topic: Reasons and Causes of Child Labor What is child labor? Before anything else, it is important that we define child labor. Finding one working definition for child labor is not probable due to the fact that researchers cannot agree among themselves on the issue of what exact age does childhood begin and end and what kinds of work are considered to be too much to bear for a child. The general population would dismiss child labor as a major issue today because they believe that it mostly took place only during the surge of industrialization but what they are not aware of is that the issue of child labor has recently been the subject of a surge in formal economic analysis. According to the International Labor Organization or ILO, there has been a significant decrease in child labor and an even steeper decline in hazardous child labor; nevertheless, in 2004, there were still 218 million child laborers, of whom 126 million were in hazardous work. (Soares, 2010) The first definition of child labor this review of related literature would tackle stresses the idea that a childs set of rights as such is damaged as soon as he or she is forced to work. It is defined as any work by children that interfere with their full physical development, the opportunities for a minimum of education and of their needed recreation. This is in keeping with the International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions on child labor as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the childs educa tion, or to be harmful to the childs health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. (Jha, 2009) To shed more light in understanding of the phenomenon of child labor, researchers feel the need to define what is meant by it. As cited by Bhukuth in his academic journal that according to Schlemmer, the term 'child labour' is pernicious because it depends on a definition of both 'work' and 'childhood', thus complicating the task of reaching a precise definition. The issue of child labor relates, therefore, to definitions of work and of childhood. There is widespread agreement that paying wages exposes children to exploitation, but the ILO recognizes categories of work that could harm the child's physical and mental development and those that do not. The distinction, however, is believed to be ambiguous. (Bhukuth, 2008) Child labor should be seen as a global problem even though it is mostly prevalent only in Asia and Africa. Kumari believes that if child labor is to be eradicated, the governments and agencies and those responsible for enforcement need to start doing their jobs. The most important thing is to increase awareness and keep discussing ways and means to check this problem. We have to decide whether we are going to take up the problem head-on and fight it any way we can or leave it to the adults who might not be there when things go out of hand. Child Labor is viewed no less as courage affecting the destiny of the child that his malnutrition or morbidity. However one must take a distinction between child labor and exploitation of child labor. Both are a problem though of different orders. Child labor as distinguished from work experience has mostly negative attributes. Work as direct fulfillment of a child's natural abilities and creative potentialities is always conducive to his healthy growth. But work when taken up as means for the fulfillment of some other needs, becomes in solving in character and deleterious in its impact. (Kumari, 2010) Reasons as to why child labor exists This review of related literature offers several reasons of child labor pointed out by different researchers. First, Jha alleged that the child workers are actually bonded laborers. Though this claim cannot be substantiated and it is certainly exaggerated, yet the existence of such conditions can hardly be

denied. Bonded child labor refers to a condition of servitude to pay off a debt incurred by a parent. These debts are usually very small but with high interest rates. As the wages are low, the debts can never be repaid, and the parent remains in perpetual servitude. In the course of time, their children inherit this burden. (Jha, 2009) Another reason Thippeswamy. S pointed out would be that children are generally perceived as replacement for adult domestic workers performing multiple roles and conforming to the expectations of being and employee/servant of the household, an adopted child, in the case of sympathetic employers, and a playmate of the employer's children. For the same amount of work, they can be paid less than their adult counterparts. This is justified by indicating that the child still has to be trained or taught the skills and routines of the house hold work. Yet, this is precisely the reasons for employing children. (Thippeswamy. S., 2013) Last but definitely not the least, the phenomenon of child domestic work is rooted in poverty. Major reasons cited by families include poverty and the supplementing reasons of wanting to help their parents and siblings, or of sending oneself to school. (Thippeswamy. S., 2013) Poverty as a main reason for the persistence of child labor will be further discussed in the causes of child labor. Causes of child labor One of the most expected but nonetheless contentious determinants of child labor revealed by these studies is poverty. This notion was introduced here as the luxury axiom. The role of poverty has been the cornerstone of much of the thinking about child labor. Casual empiricism seems to confirm its significance. (Basu and Tzannatos, 2003) According to Jha, when the very survival of family is at stake, every member is expected to contribute to the family income. Not surprisingly, it is often assumed by policy planners and researchers that the most significant reason for child labor is poverty. Such is the case in India where in the situation is worsened by the fact that for the poor families in India, alternative sources of income are non-existent. As children contribute to the family income, child labor becomes part of a developing countrys economy. After a certain level of development, children become more of an economic burden. The authors show that during Englands developing stage (late eighteenth century), childrens contribution to family income was similar to that of Peru and Paraguay in the e arly 1990s. In the same vein, it was quoted that in an ILO study, which found that childrens work was essential to maintaining the economic level of households, either in the form of work for wages, help in household enterprises, or of household chores in order to free adult household members for economic activity elsewhere. The study found that childrens income accounted for between 34% and 37% of the household income in some cases. In a study of the hand-made carpet industry around Jaipur, it was found that most of the child workers came from large farmer households and meager family income. In all cases (but especially with very large families of eight to nine children), children worked to earn money that was sufficient to feed and clothe themselves. In another study conducted in two market towns of the Punjab, it was found that most of the children were migrants. Of these nearly 78% were those whose parents were unemployed. In this case, the children had the additional burden of supporting their parents. These studies show that poverty and unemployment are by far the most important reasons for child labor. (Jha. 2009) Yet, these studies also point out that other factors for example, family size and migration are equally important causes. In reality, the relation between poverty or unemployment and child labor is quite complex. For example, Bhalotra and Tzannatos wrote that the relation of household income and child labor is often found to be non-linear and in many cases is weak, while the ownership of productive assets (like land) can increase child labor. Basu and Van contend that child labor may, by competing with adult labor, be a factor in the impoverishment of adults. Thus, Basu, referring to econometric studies of the labor market in the late nineteenth century points out that when adult wages rise or unemployment falls, the incidence of child labor tends to fall. Hence, if we are seriously concerned about child labor, we will have to improve the economic condition of the adult worker. In a similar vein, it was observed that child labor is rampant in those communities where the parents get employment for not more than 100 days in a year and that too on wages far less than the statutory minimum wages. The calculations show that the number of child labor is almost equal to the number of unemployed adults in India. So, a

complete and instant eradication of child labor would provide jobs to all the unemployed adults in the country. Organizations like the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) do not accept arguments about material conditions, including poverty or unemployment. They believe that it is the employers willingness to exploit poor people, and particularly children, which is at the root of the problem. They see arguments relating to poverty as an excuse for inaction and a very convenient equation from all those who benefit from the status quo or who feel the problem is just too huge to tackle. (Jha, 2009) Child labor is typically associated with poverty, but there is evidence that certain forms of wealth are correlated with an increased within-household demand for child labor. Among other determinants of child labor at the individual level are the childs age and gender, education and employment of the parents, and rural versus urban location. (Dehejia and Gatti, 2005) Economics researcher, Thippeswamy. S laid out what he believes are other causes of child labor such as economic reforms that blatantly state the need for child labor. Second, poor or inadequate educational system that nonetheless causes families to employ children as laborers instead of sending them to school and giving them the proper education these children need and deserve. Third, large household sizes that causes family members especially the younger ones to make themselves useful by becoming laborers and earning additional, although for some cases meager income. Even children feel that there is a need for all family members to work and earn money. Related to the third cause would be family problems such as rural and male unemployment, disputes, ill-treatment and loss of parents that again require the need for young ones to earn money as an alternative. Lastly, Thippeswamy. S added that cultural beliefs such as discrimination between boys and girls, part of a child's upbringing, parent's ignorance of what is really happening to the child and the impacts it will have on their child are other causes of child labor. (Thippeswamy. S., 2013) It is not hard to see that most researchers agree that poverty and familial set up that require the young ones to work are the most common causes of child labor. However, Bhalotra and Heady believe that the literature on child labor has not devoted much attention to labor market failure. Researchers work on the assumption that subsistence poverty drives child labor, and the mechanics of their model depend on a well-functioning labor market. Analysis made by the researcher begs to consider the effects of an adult minimum wage on child labor. Their researches make an important contribution in highlighting the role of poverty and analyzing the effects of policies that have been much discussed. But these policies are of limited relevance to the majority of rural households, whose main income derives from self-employment. Other authors have emphasized that child labor can arise as a result of credit market constraints or problems of intergenerational contracting. Bhalotra and Heady mentioned other economics researchers such as Eswaran and Cigno and others who model child labor as codetermined with fertility. (Bhalotra and Heady, 2003) Cases of child labor in various countries To understand the issue of child labor more and its reasons and causes, let us take into consideration some developing countries and the cases of child labor each country has. It is evident that most researchers agree that poverty is the main cause of child labor wherever in the world a child may be. India India has the dubious distinction of being the nation with the second largest number of child laborers in the world. The child laborers endure miserable and difficult lives. They earn little and struggle to make enough to feed themselves and their families. They do not go to school; more than half of them are unable to learn the barest skills of literacy. Poverty is one of the main reasons behind this phenomenon. The unrelenting poverty forces the parents to push their young children in all forms of hazardous occupations. (Kumari, 2010) In the Indian context, there appears to be three main schools of thought with regard to child labor. The first believes in total prohibition, arguing that any child who is not in school must be working, and that the solution lies in free and compulsory education. The second school believes in a combination of prohibition and regulation, favoring a gradual and selective approach to end child labor, as the magnitude of the problem is enormous and the state has its limitations. The third school

believes that the state should merely create suitable conditions for both work and education, leaving it to the parents and the children to decide if they want to go to school or work. (Jha, 2009) Child labor in India is a human right issue for the whole world. It is a serious and extensive problem, with many children under the age of fourteen working in carpet making factories, glass blowing units and making fireworks with bare little hands. According to the statistics given by Indian government there are 20 million child laborers in the country, while other agencies claim that it is about 50 million. (Kumari, 2010) Pakistan According to the research made by Yasin, Qasim and Faiz, the main causes behind the child labor in Pakistan are high population growth in poor families, the disguised unemployment in agriculture sector in rural areas, large family size, low productivity, low family income more dependency ratio, high rate of absolute poverty, unpaid family helpers, low level of parents education and inadequate education facilities to the children. Child labor remains a widespread problem in the world today in general and in the developing countries in particular and resultantly the attention has been on devising such a policy which aims at an ample control on the menace. Only the kids from poor families are being compelled to work hard to live the hard life. Like several other developing countries, Pakistan has been undergoing the pervasive issue of child labor since its birth owing to the number of reasons. National Child Labor Survey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Statistics Pakistan 1996 estimated that 3.3 million of the 40 million children (ages from 5-14) were working on a full-time basis. The 73 percent of total child labor belongs to boys while, 27 percent were girls. The number of economically active children in the 10-14 years age group is more than four times the children in the 5-9 years age group. Agricultural sector engaged 67 percent of child labor, manufacturing sector engaged 11 percent, while wholesale and retail trade, and restaurant and hotels sector engaged 9 and 8 percent respectively. According to the survey, main causes behind the child labor in Pakistan are high population growth in poor families, the disguised unemployment in agriculture sector in rural areas, large family size, low productivity, low family income more dependency ratio, high rate of absolute poverty, unpaid family helpers, low level of parents education and inadequate education facilities to the children. (Yasin, Qasim, and Faiz, 2011) Turkey The study made by Acaroglu has shown that there are examined effects of some factors on the child labor force in Turkey such as the level of education of household heads determining the child labor, the features of geographical region where the household live and sex of working children. The findings have proved that these factors have a significant effect on the child labor force. The fact of child labor force is one of the primary concerns of developing countries including Turkey. The findings of the study reveal that the problem of child labor force in Turkey is more common in rural regions and the education level of household heads deciding the child labor is lower again in rural regions, accordingly. This situation springs to mind that enhancing the education level of parents who are the decision-makers of child labor may play one of the key roles in sorting out this problem. The Turkish Government, to be able to find a solution to the problem of child labor in its developing country should increase the education level of adults capable of affecting the decision-making mechanism especially in rural regions. When examined the examples of studies made in Turkey, it was indicated that the age and sex of the child, the education level of his/her parents and the condition of the area are significant and decisive to child labor force. According to Tunal, elder children and the children having undereducated parents have more tendencies in participating into the labor force. The study has examined effects of some factors on the child labor force in Turkey such as the level of education of household heads determining the child labor, the features of geographical region where the household live and sex of working children. The findings have proved that these factors have a significant effect on the child labor force. Thus, it can be said that if the education levels of household heads or decision makers of households is increased, the problem of child labor force could be reduced or

eliminated. This finding being a matter of Turkey refers to the necessary measures that the government has to take when dealing with this social problem. (Acaroglu, 2010) Recommendations for future research Experts on child labor studies admit that their studies are imperfect therefore they have offered future researchers recommendations on how to attack the issue to make plausible causes and reasons to why child labor continues to persist. Jha stated that there is a need to focus on factors that induce or promote child labor, or arguments how child labor contributes to the family income or the national income merely provide platforms for supporting or rationalizing the use of child labor by highlighting their economic contributions. The need is to see children as individuals, not merely as productive members of families or communities. We know that children exploited by their employers constitute one of the most deprived sections of the society. We also know that abuse and discrimination can, and does take place within the family. In considering the larger picture, we tend to forget the individual experiences of hardship and suffering. (Jha, 2009) There is also a need to create a situation whereby children would no longer be under exploitative conditions, where it would be worthwhile for them to attend school, where the income of the parents will be sufficient to provide for them. The changes in the economic conditions need to be accompanied by overall social development, and the spread of literacy and education, which will hopefully ensure that the children are empowered and that they can enjoy their right to live with dignity. The call for activism to promote mass changes in individual behavior and attitudes made by Dreze and Sen in another context is equally valid here. Lastly, Jha believes that the government needs to play a more proactive role in securing the children their rights. Even while emphasizing the central role of the government, the roles of the three relevant social institutions the markets, NGOs, and households need to be mentioned. Only a coming together of these institutions can lead to an end of the current exploitation of helpless children. We need not only the power of the state and the law, but also a change of the heart.13 The complete eradication of child labour is a noble goal but a goal that is fraught with many difficulties. Only the future can tell us when this goal will be realized. (Jha, 2009)

WORKS CITED Acaroglu, H. (2010) An empirical approach about some important features of child labor in Turkey, Business and Economic Horizons, 3, 135-146 Basu, K. and Tzannatos, Z. (2003) The Global Child Labor Problem: What Do We Know and What Can We Do, The World Bank Economic Review, 17, 147-173 Bhalotra, S. and Heady, C. (2003) Child Farm Labor: The Wealth Paradox, The World Bank Economic Review, 17, 197-227 Bhukuth, A. (2008) Defining Child Labor: A Controversial Debate, Development in Practice, 18, 385-394 Dehejia, R. and Gatti, R. (2005) The Role of Financial Development and Income Variability across Countries, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 53, 913-932 Jha, M. (2009) Child Workers in India: Context and Complexities, Human Rights Review, 10, 205-218 Kana, M., Phoumin, H. and Seiichi, F. (2010) Does Child Labour Have a Negative Impact on Child Education and Health? A Case Study in Rural Cambodia, Oxford Development Studies, 38, 357-382 Kumari, S. (2010) Child Labor: A Menace to Society, International Journal and Allied Sciences, 2, 125-134 Soares, J. (2010) Welfare Impact of a Ban on Child Labor, Economic Inquiry, 48, 1048-1064 Thippeswamy, S. (2013) Legal Protection Of Child Domestic Workers In India, Indian Streams Research Journal, 3, 1-6 Yasin, G., Qasim, F. and Faiz, F. (2011) Causes of Child Labour and Discrimination of Wages in Different Sectors: A Case of Urban Multan, Pakistan, International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, 81, 65-76

You might also like