Working Paper: NBER ID: w18623
Authors: Eric V. Edmonds; Maheshwor Shrestha
Abstract: Promoting minimum age of employment regulation has been a centerpiece in child labor policy for the last 15 years. If enforced, minimum age regulation would change the age profile of paid child employment. Using micro-data from 59 mostly low-income countries, we observe that age can explain less than 1 percent of the variation in child participation in paid employment. In contrast, child-invariant household attributes account for 63 percent of the variation in participation in paid employment. While age may explain little of the variation in paid employment, minimum age of employment regulation could simultaneously impact time allocation. We do not observe evidence consistent with enforcement of minimum age regulation in any country examined, although light work regulation appears to have been enforced in one country.
Keywords: child labor; minimum age regulation; schooling; UNICEF MICS
JEL Codes: J08; J22; J24; J80
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| household characteristics (R20) | paid employment (J68) |
| minimum age of employment regulation (J89) | age distribution of paid employment (J21) |
| minimum age of employment regulation (J89) | shifts in child labor from outside to inside the household (D13) |
| minimum age of employment regulation (J89) | changes in schooling (I21) |
| compulsory schooling laws (I21) | interpretation of minimum age regulations (J13) |
| minimum age of employment regulation (J89) | child labor (J82) |
| minimum age of employment regulation (J89) | schooling (I21) |