eliminating child labour, achieving inclusive...

© 2015 World Vision

policy paper OctOber 2016

eliminating child labour, achieving inclusive economic growth

World Vision UK Overseas Development Institute2

• Ofthemorethan160millionchildlabourersintheworld,85millionarecaughtinhazardousformsofworkwithacutevulnerabilitiesandlackofrights.

• Thecostofchildlabourtotheglobaleconomyisasmuchas6.6percentofglobalgrossnationalincome.

• Endingchildlabourwouldbeinstrumentalinachievinggreaterinclusiveeconomicgrowththroughenablingbettereducationaloutcomesforchildren,buildinghumancapital,increasingthepotentialforyoungpeopletoaccessjobopportunitiesandsupportingdecentworkstandards.

• PrioritisingtheeliminationofchildlabourwillcatalysemomentumonarangeofSustainableDevelopmentGoals,includingthoseoneconomicdevelopment,educationandgenderequality.

• Effectivepoliciesandprogrammestoeliminatechildlabouraremulti-layeredandrespondtotheproblem’smultiplefacets.Theyneedtobetargetedandholistic,andmorecomprehensiveinscaleandscopethantheyhavebeentodate.Suchpoliciesshouldfocusinparticularonthemostvulnerablechildren,whohavenotbeenreachedbyprogresstoreducechildlabourinrecentyears.

Eliminatingchildlabour,achievinginclusiveeconomicgrowth

TableofcontentsAcknowledgements..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................3 Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................41. Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................52. Endingchildlabour:BenefitsforDFID’swork..........................................................................................................................................................................................................7

2.1 Spurringinclusiveeconomicgrowth................................................................................................................................................................................................................72.2 Promotingdecentworkforyouth.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................72.3 Ensuringweare‘leavingnoonebehind’.....................................................................................................................................................................................................82.4 Strengtheningthesuccessofeducationinterventions.................................................................................................................................................................82.5 HelpingdelivertheSustainableDevelopmentGoals....................................................................................................................................................................8

3. Childlabour:Basicconceptsandanalyticalframework..................................................................................................................................................................................93.1 Childlabourfiguresandtrends.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................103.2 Themaincausesofchildlabour.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................133.3 Analyticalframework:Eliminatechildlabour –contributetoeconomicgrowth.................................................................................................................................................................................................................14

4. Eliminatingchildlabourtocontributetoeconomicgrowth:Exploringthepathways..............................................................................................164.1 Eliminatingchildlabourtopromotehumancapitaldevelopment, akeydriverofeconomicgrowth....................................................................................................................................................................................................................164.2 Eliminatingchildlabourtopromotedecentwork.......................................................................................................................................................................194.3 Reducingviolenceagainstchildrenanditsassociatedcoststotheeconomy................................................................................................214.4 Girlsinvolvedinchildlabourandconsequencesongrowth............................................................................................................................................21

5. Estimatingthecosttotheeconomyofchildlabour......................................................................................................................................................................................236. Policyandprogrammaticeffortstoeliminatechildlabour.....................................................................................................................................................................25

6.1 Programmaticeffortstoreducechildlabour....................................................................................................................................................................................266.2 EthiopiansFightingAgainstChildExploitation(E-FACE):2011–2015.....................................................................................................................276.3 MeerutChildLabourProject:2013–ongoing....................................................................................................................................................................................286.4 Kenya:Measuringlonger-termimpactonchildrenandfamilies ofinterventionsagainstchildlabour............................................................................................................................................................................................................296.5 Socialprotectionandcashtransferprogrammes..........................................................................................................................................................................306.6 Mexico’sProgresa/Oportunidades/Prospera.....................................................................................................................................................................................30

7. Conclusions.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................32References ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................36

WorldVisionUK OverseasDevelopmentInstitute 3

AcknowledgementsThisreportwaswrittenbyPaolaPereznieto,MatthewJonesandAndresMontes.WewouldliketothankCatherineTurner,CarolineHarper,JessicaPlummer,MadeleineAskham,EricaHall,AndrewWare,PeterKeeganandGavinCrowdenfortheirsupportandinput.WorldVisionUKwouldalsoliketoexpressitsgratitudetotheWorldVisionofficesthatsubmittedevidencetoinformthisreport,particularlythoseinBangladesh,Bolivia,Cambodia,Ethiopia,India,thePhilippinesandtheUS.

cover image:ChildreninvolvedinasavingsprogrammeinBangladesh.Theprogrammehelpstodevelopfinancialresilienceagainstchildlabour.

PublishedbyWorldVisionUK©2016WorldVisionUKandOverseasDevelopmentInstituteAllphotographs:©WorldVision

Oursafeguardingpolicypreventsusfromshowingthefacesofanychildrenaffectedbytheissuesdiscussedinthisreport.Allimagesusedweretakenwithpermissionfromsimilarcontextsandarenotlinkedtothespecificstoriesinthisreport.

world vision uKWorldVisionHouse,OpalDrive,FoxMilne,MiltonKeynes,MK150ZRwww.worldvision.org.uk

world vision uK Londonoffice 11BelgraveRoad, London,SW1V1RB

overseas development institute203BlackfriarsRoadLondonSE18NJTel+44(0)2079220300

WorldVisionisaregisteredcharityno.285908,acompanylimitedbyguaranteeandregisteredinEnglandno.1675552.Registeredofficeasabove.

AcronymscFs ChildFriendlySpace

cpwg ChildProtectionWorkingGroup

crc ConventionontheRightsoftheChild

daly Disability-AdjustedLifeYear

dFid DepartmentforInternationalDevelopment

eca EasternEuropeandCentralAsia

eFa EducationForAll

e-Face EthiopiansFightingAgainstChildExploitation

gdp GrossDomesticProduct

gni GrossNationalIncome

ilo InternationalLabourOrganization

ipec InternationalProgrammeontheEliminationofChildLabour

lsbe LifeSkill-BasedEducation

mdg MillenniumDevelopmentGoal

mena MiddleEastandNorthAfrica

ngo Non-GovernmentalOrganisation

oda OfficialDevelopmentAssistance

oecd OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment

opt OccupiedPalestinianTerritory

sdg SustainableDevelopmentGoal

tbp TimeBoundProject

tvet TechnicalandVocationalEducationandTraining

ucw UnderstandingChildren’sWork

uK UnitedKingdom

un UnitedNations

uniceF UNChildren’sFund

wdi WorldDevelopmentIndicators

who WorldHealthOrganization

WorldVisionUKOverseasDevelopmentInstitute4

World Vision UK Overseas Development Institute 5

1.IntroductionChildlabourcontributestoslowinglevelsofeconomicgrowth,whichinturnaffectsacountry’sdevelopmenttrajectory.Eliminatingchildlabourhelpsgenerateinclusiveeconomicgrowth,enablesstrongereducationalattainmentsandhumancapitalaccumulationandfurthersotherimportantdevelopmentobjectives.

Whilstweakandunequaleconomicgrowthcanalsoleadtochildlabourthroughitsimpactonpovertyandlabourmarkets,thisreportseekstoaddresstheissuefromanewangle:showingthateliminatingchildlabourcaninitselfcontributetoeconomicgrowth.Thisapproachbuildseconomicelementsintothealreadystrongchildrightscaseforeliminatingchildlabour,appealingtopolicy-makerswhotypicallyneglectchildlabourasa‘social’or‘rights’issue,whenitisalsoanimportanteconomicone.

Thisreportshowsthedifferenttransmissionpathwaysthroughwhichchildlabourcontributestoslowereconomicgrowth,particularlywhereitismoreprevalent.ItdrawsclearlinksbetweeneliminatingchildlabourandtheUKgovernment’sabilitytofulfilitsinternationaldevelopmentobjectives.Indeed,severaloftheDepartmentforInternationalDevelopment’s(DFID)policycommitmentscannotbefullyachievedwithouttacklingchildlabour.Thisanalysisisequallyapplicabletootherdevelopmentactorsglobally,includingdonorsandnon-governmentalorganisations(NGOs).


AboyfromEthiopiawhosefamilyreceivedsupportandencouragementinatransitionoutofworkandbackintofull-timeeducation.


Theterm‘childlabour’isdefinedasworkthatdepriveschildrenoftheirchildhood,theirpotentialandtheirdignity,andthatisharmfultotheirphysicalandmentaldevelopment.Eliminatingtheworstformsofchildlabourisaparticularpriority.Theseformsofchildlabourincludehazardousformsofworkthatputachild’sphysical,socialandmoralintegrityatriskandareaclearviolationofchildren’srights.

Childlabourisassociatedwithhouseholdpoverty,andthereisahigherincidenceofchildlabourinlow-incomecountries.1 However,childlabourisnotaconsequencesolelyofpovertyorpooreconomicperformance.Assuch,economicgrowthalonewillnotleadtoitsreduction.2Policiesandprogrammesthataddresshouseholdpovertyandvulnerabilityinamoreholisticmanner,includingbyprovidingsupportorincentivestoattendschool,andthattransformentrenchedperceptionsaboutchildlabourbeingacceptable,aswellastargetingeffectiveinterventionsatthemostvulnerablefamiliesareeffectivewaystotacklechildlabourandthroughthistopromoteinclusiveandsustainableeconomicgrowth.

child labour in numbers: the extent oF the problem

Thescaleofchildlabourgloballyisenormous:closeto168millionchildren–99.7millionboysand68.1milliongirlsaged5–17years–areestimatedtobeengagedinchildlabour,with85million(55millionboysand30milliongirls)3 engagedinhazardousformsofwork.AccordingtorecentfiguresfromtheInternationalLabourOrganzation(ILO),thisprevalenceratepersistsdespiteprogressinpovertyreductioninnumerouscountriesoverthepast15years.

Thepotentialthatreducingchildlabourholdsforincreasinginclusiveeconomicgrowthsitsalongsideevengreaterbenefits.Firstandforemostis,ofcourse,thefulfilmentofchildren’srightstoalifefreefromharmfulorexploitativework,withtheabilitytoaccesseducationandenjoygoodhealth.Moreover,fromapolicyperspective,theinternationalcommunityisnowboundtorealisetheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs).InadditiontoGoal8,whichexplicitlycommitssignatorycountriestoeliminatingallformsofchildlabour(target8.7),othergoalscannotbeachievedunlesschildlabouriseliminated.TheseincludeGoals1,3and4,whichrelatetoeliminatingpoverty,guaranteeingahealthylifeandensuringinclusivequalityeducation.Mostchildlabourersaretrappedinanegativespiralofpoverty.Theyaretypicallyunabletoattendschoolortolearnwheninschool,andchildreninhazardousworkcanseetheirhealthaffected,evenpermanently.

ReportoutlineThisreportisstructuredasfollows:Section2presentsananalysisofwhatchildlabourmeansforDFIDandthefulfilmentofitspolicycommitments.Section3presentstheanalyticalframeworkunderpinningthisanalysis,outliningthedifferentmechanismsthroughwhicheliminatingchildlabourcantranslateintoeconomicgrowth.Italsoprovidessomekeydefinitionsandtrendsconcerningthechildlabourchallengeglobally,aswellasexploringitsmaincauses.Section4exploresingreaterdetailtheevidencebehindtheargumentthateliminatingchildlabourcancontributetoeconomicgrowth.Section5presentssomeestimatesofthecostsofchildlabourtoeconomicgrowth.Section6suggestsaselectionofinterventionsthathavesuccessfullyworkedtoreduceoreliminatechildlabour,discussinghowthisobjectivehasbeenachieved.Thereportthenendswithsomeconclusionsandrecommendations.

1ILO,2013a2KambhampatiandRajan,2006;SarkarandSarkar,20123Thisfiguredoesnotincludegirlswhoareworkinginharshconditionsintheirhomes,orwhohaveundergoneearlymarriageandareexploitedintheirhusband’shomesgenerallythroughdomesticand/ormanuallabour,orthesexualrelationsthatachild,intheirroleasspouse,isforcedtoundertake(Turner,2013).


2.Endingchildlabour:BenefitsforDFID’swork

ThisreportarguesthatafocusonendingchildlabourresonatesstronglywiththefollowingtwoDFIDstrategicobjectives:4

• promoting global prosperity:TheUKgovernmentwilluseofficialdevelopmentassistance(ODA)topromoteeconomicdevelopmentandprosperityinthedevelopingworld.

• tackling extreme poverty and helping the world’s most vulnerable:Thegovernmentwillstrivetoeliminateextremepovertyby2030,andsupporttheworld’spoorestpeopletoensureeverypersonhasaccesstobasicneeds,includingprioritisingtherightsofgirlsandwomen.

Theseobjectivescanbeassessedintermsofanumberofkeythemestowhicheffortstoendchildlabourcanprovidecatalyticsupport.Thesethemesincludethefollowing:

2.1 SpurringinclusiveeconomicgrowthEconomicdevelopmentisincreasinglyseenaskeytoachievingtheabovestrategicobjectives.DFID’sEconomicDevelopmentStrategicFrameworkrecognisesthat‘Economicdevelopmenttakesplacewhenacountryachieveslongterm,highratesofeconomicgrowthandwhenthisgrowthisaccompaniedbyawidereconomictransformationthatbenefitsthepoorandsharesprosperitybroadly’.5 DFIDaimstopromotesuchgrowththrougharangeofinitiatives.Inorderto‘promoteglobalprosperity’,DFID’sworkseekstoputinplacetheenablingconditionsformarketdevelopmentandcatalyticinvestmentacrosskeysectorswherethereisgrowthpotential.DFIDhighlightsthat,indoingso,itwillensure‘nobodyisleftbehindandthatgirlsandwomenandyoungpeoplehaveaccesstoproductivejobs’.6AsformerSecretaryofStateJustineGreeninghighlightedinaspeechdeliveredattheEducationWorldForum:‘Theevidenceisclearthatthiswillrequiremuchhighergrowthratesinmanycountries,moreinclusivegrowth–inparticularforgirlsandwomen,andactionstotacklethestructuralbarriersthatdenypoorpeoplethechancetoraisetheirincomesandfindjobs.’7

Thisreportprovidesevidenceonhoweliminatingchildlabourcancontributetoinclusiveeconomicgrowth,particularlyinthosecountrieswhereitismoreprevalent,manyofwhichareDFIDfocuscountries.Theeliminationofchildlabourisalsoakeyareaofinvestmentforpromotingsocialcohesionandreducingincomeinequalitynowandintheyearstocome.Investingintheeliminationofchildlabourisawaytoensuregrowthandprosperityarebroad-basedandshared,particularlyamongthemostvulnerable,andthatbenefitsarereapednotonlyintheshortbutalsointhemediumto longterm.

2.2 PromotingdecentworkforyouthAsthisreportwillillustrate,childlabourislinkedtolackofeducationduringchildhoodandalsotolowerprobabilitiesoffindingdecentworkaschildrentransitiontoadulthood.8 Thisincreasesyouthwithlowlevelsofthekindsofskillsrequiredforproductiveemployment,contributingfurthertothechallengeofyouthunemployment.

DFID’sYouthAgenda9definesyouthas‘theperiodoftimeduringwhichayoungpersongoesthroughaformativetransitionintoadulthood’.Itgenerallyconsidersthistoencompassthe10–24yearsagerange.Bythisdefinition,andgiventhatmostchildlabourersareagedbetween10and17,contributingtotheeliminationofchildlabourmeansworkingdirectlytosupportDFID’sYouthAgenda,whichenvisagestheagencyworkingondifferentfronts.Itincludessupporttoequipyoungpeoplewiththerequisiteeducation,skills,networksandopportunitiestotransitionfromadolescencetoadulthoodandfromeducationtoproductivework.

4DFID/HMTreasury,20155DFID,20146DFID/HMTreasury,20157JustineGreeningSpeechattheEducationWorldForum,18/01/16,availableat: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/justine-greening-education-world-forum--2(accessed6April2016)

8ILO,20159DFID,2016b


2.3 Ensuringweare‘leavingnoonebehind’DFID’spledgeof‘leavingnoonebehind’10commitsittoensuringthat:

• Everypersonhasafairopportunityinlifenomatterwhoorwheretheyare;and

• Peoplewhoarefurthestbehind,whohaveleastopportunityandwhoarethemostexcludedwillbeprioritised.

Childlabourersareamongtheworld’smostvulnerablechildren.11Suchworkcanbementally,physically,sociallyormorallydangerousandharmfultochildrenandcaninterferewiththeirschooling.Assuch,childlabourersareanimportantdemographictotargetifthereistobeatruecommitmenttoreachingthemostvulnerable.Moreover,itisademographicthatwillnotbereachedautomaticallybypoliciespromotingbroad-basedeconomicgrowthoreducationalone.Thereisclearevidencethatchildlabourcontributestotheintergenerationaltransmissionofpoverty.12Ifitisnoteliminated,futuregenerationsofchildrenwillalsogrowupinpovertyandvulnerability.

2.4 StrengtheningthesuccessofeducationinterventionsTotackleextremepovertyandhelptheworld’smostvulnerable,DFIDaimstoconductvalueformoneyinvestments,includinghelpingchildreninthepoorestcountries,particularlygirls,gainaccesstoadecenteducation.UndertheUKgovernment’smanifestocommitmenttodirectlyhelptheworld’spoorest,thegovernmenthaspledgedto‘helpatleast11millionchildreninthepoorestcountriesgainadecenteducation,andpromotegirls’education’.Inordertofulfilthiscommitmentinacost-effectiveway,theUKgovernmentmustworktotacklechildlabour.

Thisreportpresentsevidencethatshowschildlabourisanimportantreasonwhychildreninpoorcountriesarenotabletoaccesseducationatall,dropoutofschoolearlyorperformpoorly.13Amongothereducation-relatedindicators,childlabourleadstolowereducationoutcomes,particularlyifthechildworksregularly,andevenmodestamountsofchildlabouraffectacademicperformanceandcognitivedevelopment,particularlyforprimary-agechildren.14Inthecaseofmanyadolescentgirls,forexample,theburdenofdomesticlabourcombinedwithschoolresultsinpoorperformanceandearlydropout.15Currentinvestmentstoincreaseschoolenrolmentswillnotbefullyeffectiveaslongastherearechildrendroppingoutofschoolorgoingthroughschoolwithoutlearning.Thus,inordertomaximisethevalueofDFID’sinvestmentsineducationandtoensureallgirlsandboysareabletoenrolin,attendandperformwellinschool,comprehensiveinvestmentstosupporteffortsthattacklechildlabourarecritical.

2.5 HelpingdelivertheSustainableDevelopmentGoalsSupportingtheeliminationofchildlabourisinstrumentalinDFID’seffortstoachievetheSDGs.DFID’sSingleDepartmentalPlanstatesthat,‘thenewGlobalGoalsareamajorlandmarkinourfightagainstglobalpovertyandtheUKcanbeproudofBritain’sleadingroleinsecuringthem.’16EliminatingchildlabourisaspecifictargetunderGoal8:Promoteinclusiveandsustainableeconomicgrowth,employmentanddecentworkforall–agoalDFID’sEconomicDevelopmentStrategyisalignedwith.Target8.7statesthefollowing:

Takeimmediateandeffectivemeasurestoeradicateforcedlabour,endmodernslaveryandhumantraffickingandsecuretheprohibitionandeliminationoftheworstformsofchildlabour,includingrecruitmentanduseofchildsoldiers,andby2025endchildlabourinallitsforms

Itisworthnotingthatthistargetistime-boundand,ifitistobereachedfiveyearsbeforetheendoftheSDGperiod(2030),thensignificanteffortsareneededglobally.Thisunderscorestheurgencyofchannellinginvestmentsandeffortsthrougheffectivepoliciesandprogrammestoensurethisglobalcommitmentisachieved.

TheevidenceinthisreportshowsthateliminatingchildlabourisalsoinstrumentaltotheachievementofotherSDGs,suchasGoal1:Endpovertyinallitsformseverywhere;Goal4:Ensureinclusiveandqualityeducationforallandpromotelifelonglearning;andGoal5:Achievegenderequalityandempowerallwomenandgirls.

10DFID,201511ILO,2013a;UNICEF,201412BasuandTzannatos,200313Chaubeyetal.,200714Sanchezetal.,2005,citedinBird,200715e.g.Assaadetal.,2010;KerConwayandBourque,199516DFID,2016a


3.Childlabour:Basicconceptsandanalyticalframework

Thissectionpresentssomebasicconceptsandfigurestoprovideacommonunderstandingoftheglobalchildlabourcontext.Suchanunderstandingwillenableacleareranalysisofhowthereductionofchildlabourcontributestopositiveeconomicgrowth.

deFining child labour

Theterm‘childlabour’isdefinedasworkthatdepriveschildrenoftheirchildhood,theirpotentialandtheirdignity,andthatisharmfultophysicalandmentaldevelopment.

Itreferstoworkthat:

• ismentally,physically,sociallyormorallydangerousandharmfultochildren;and

• interfereswiththeirschoolingby:

- deprivingthemoftheopportunitytoattendschool;

- obligingthemtoleaveschoolprematurely;or

- requiringthemtoattempttocombineschoolattendancewithexcessivelylongandheavywork.

Whetherornotparticularformsof‘work’canbecalled‘childlabour’dependsonthechild’sage,thetypeandhoursofworkperformed,theconditionsunderwhichitisperformedandtheobjectivespursuedbyindividualcountries.Theanswervariesfromcountrytocountry,aswellasbetweensectorswithincountries.

Inparticular,labourthatjeopardisesthephysical,mentalormoralwell-beingofachild,eitherbecauseofitsnatureorbecauseoftheconditionsinwhichitiscarriedout,isknownas‘hazardous work’.Hazardouschildworkisthelargestcategoryoftheworstformsofchildlabour.

Whilechildlabourtakesmanydifferentforms,apriorityistoeliminatewithoutdelaytheworst forms of child labourasdefinedbyArticle3ofILOConvention182,whichrefersto:

(a)allformsofslaveryorpracticessimilartoslavery,suchasthesaleandtraffickingofchildren,debtbondageandserfdomandforcedorcompulsorylabour,includingforcedorcompulsoryrecruitmentofchildrenforuseinarmedconflict

(b)theuse,procuringorofferingofachildforprostitution,fortheproductionofpornographyorforpornographicperformances

(c)theuse,procuringorofferingofachildforillicitactivities,inparticularfortheproductionandtraffickingofdrugsasdefinedintherelevantinternationaltreaties

(d)workwhich,byitsnatureorthecircumstancesinwhichitiscarriedout,islikelytoharmthehealth,safetyormoralsofchildren

Source:ILO.

AssignatoriestotheUNConventionontheRightsoftheChild(CRC),allStatePartiesareboundtotakemeasurestofulfiltherightsofchildren,includingwithintheframeworkofinternationalcollaboration.AccordingtoUNICEF,Article32oftheCRCrequiresthat:

Thegovernmentshouldprotectchildrenfromworkthatisdangerousormightharmtheirhealthortheireducation.WhiletheConventionprotectschildrenfromharmfulandexploitativework,thereisnothinginitthatprohibitsparentsfromexpectingtheirchildrentohelpoutathomeinwaysthataresafeandappropriatetotheirage.Ifchildrenhelpoutinafamilyfarmorbusiness,thetaskstheydobesafeandsuitedtotheirlevelofdevelopmentandcomplywithnationallabourlaws.Children’sworkshouldnotjeopardizeanyoftheirotherrights,includingtherighttoeducation,ortherighttorelaxationandplay.

BoththeILOandCRCdefinitionsofchildlabourareclearinthattheparticipationofchildreninlabourthatisharmfulandexploitativemustbeeradicated.


Thereisalsoconsensusthatnotallworkdonebychildrenneedstobeeliminated.Childrenoradolescentscanparticipateinworkthatdoesnotaffecttheirhealthorpersonaldevelopmentorinterferewiththeirschooling,forexamplehelpingtheirparentsaroundthehome,assistinginafamilybusinessorearningpocketmoneyoutsideschoolhoursorduringholidays.Thesetypesofworkcanbepositiveforachild’sskillsdevelopment,helpingitgainexperienceandbuildasenseofresponsibility.Theycanalsocontributetoachild’sfamilywelfareandhelpcontributetoschoolingcosts.AccordingtoILOdefinitions,17theterm‘childreninemployment’isbroaderthan‘childreninlabour’andisdefinedasthoseengagedinanyeconomicactivityforatleastonehourduringthereferenceperiodfordatacollection.

Childlabourexcludesthosechildrenwhoworkonlyafewhoursaweekinpermissiblelightwork,aswellasthoseabovetheminimumageforwork.

3.1 ChildlabourfiguresandtrendsAsnotedintheintroduction,around168millionchildrenbetween5and17yearsoldarecurrentlyengagedinchildlabour.Thisisequivalentto10.6percentofallthechildreninthisagegroupglobally.18Thefigurerepresentsapositivereductionfrom246millionin2000–thatis,78millionfewerchildlabourers–suggestingastepintherightdirection.Nevertheless,theproportionofchildrenthatthisrepresentsgloballyremainslarge.Themagnitudeofthedeclineinchildlabouramonggirlsbetween2000and2012wasgreaterthanthatamongboys.While8.9percentofallgirlsgloballywereinchildlabourin2012,12.2percentofallboyswere.Thetotalnumberofchildreninhazardousworkdeclinedbyoverhalf.Progresswasespeciallypronouncedamongyoungerchildren,withchildlabourforthisgroupfallingbyoverone-thirdbetween2000 and2012.

table 1: child labour and hazardous work by sex, 5–17 age group, 2000–2012

child labour hazardous work

Sex Year ‘000 % ‘000 %

Boys 2000 132,200 16.8 95,700 12.2

2012 99,766 12.2 55,048 6.7

Girls 2000 113,300 15.2 74,800 10.0

2012 68,190 8.9 30,296 4.0

Source:ILO(2013b).

Anissueofsignificantconcern,despiteoverallreductionsinchildlabouroverthepasttwodecades,isthatabouthalfofchildlabourers(85million)areinvolvedinhazardouswork.ThelargestnumberofthesearefoundintheAsia-Pacific(33.9million)andSub-SaharanAfrica(28.8million)regions.Thereare9.6millionchildreninhazardousworkinLatinAmericaandtheCaribbeanand5.2millionintheMiddleEastandNorthAfrica.Thesefiguresindicatethat,whilsttheissueofhazardouschildlabourremainsoneofglobalconcern,theparticularlyelevatednumbersofchildrenworkinginhazardousconditionsinAsia-PacificandSub-SaharanAfrica(constituting75percentofallchildreninvolvedinsuchworkglobally)requiresaredoublingofeffortsintheseregionsintheshortterm.Focusedactionsandinvestmentsmustbechannelledtothosemillionsofchildrencurrentlyaffectedbyhazardouswork,andwhoconsequentlyfacearangeofrestrictionsandvulnerabilitiesintermsofrightsfulfilmentandmeetingbasicneeds)sotheyarenotcondemnedtoalifetimeofpovertyandlimitation.

Inthecaseofgirls,inparticular,reportedfiguresrepresentasignificantunderestimate.Thefiguresforgirls’participationinhazardouslabourarehigherforthe5–14agegroup.Thisisbecausetheyincludegirls’participationinintensivedomesticwork(e.g.intheirown,orsomeoneelse’shomeascheaplabour),whichcantakeupmostoftheirtime,therebypreventingtheirattendanceofschoolorenjoymentofleisuretime.However,astheygetolder,manygirlsarelostfromthesestatistics.Thesegirlsstarttofallintootherformsofexploitativelabourwhicharehardtoestimateglobally.Theyincludebeingtraffickedintoprostitution(boysarealsovictimsoftrafficking,butatalowerrate)orbeingmarriedearlyintounequalrelationships,wheretheirspouseand/orin-lawscanengageinexploitationthatamountstoslavery,servile

17ILO,2013b18ILO,2013b


Figure 1: millions of children in each region involved in child labour and hazardous work, 2012

Note:Thetotalforchildlabourincludeschildreninvolvedinhazardouswork.Source:ILO(2013b).

marriage,childservitude,childtraffickingandforcedlabour19.Girlsinthiscategoryarealsooftennotevenrecognisedasbeingpartof‘hidden’childlabourerstatisticsintheliteratureeither.

AccordingtoILOdata,20in2012themajorityofchildlabourerswereinvolvedinagriculture(58.6percent),followedbytheservicessector,with54million(25.4percent).Twelvemillionchildrenworkintheindustrysector(7.2percent).Thisdatadoesnotincludethenumberofchildreninvolvedinhazardousworkinsectorsthatareundergroundandthuslargelyinvisible,andsoforwhichitdifficulttogeneratefigures.Asaresult,recentstatisticsofhazardousworkbysectorofoccupationarenotavailable.

table 2: child labour by national income level for children aged 5–17, 2012

Incomelevel Totalchildren(thousands) Childlabour(thousands) Childlabour(percent)

Lowincome 330,257 74,394 22.5

Lowermiddleincome 902,174 81,306 9.0

Uppermiddleincome 197,977 12,256 6.2

Source:ILO(2013b).

Asmightbeexpected,Table2showsthatchildlabourisdeeplyentrenchedinpoorcountrieswherefamiliesfightdailyforsurvival.Suchdataprovidesaninsightintothecorrelationbetweenacountry’sincomelevelandchildlabour.Over22percent–thatis,oneinfivechildrenaged5–17inlow-incomecountries–arechildlabourers.Thisrepresentsabout74millionchildren.Inlower-middle-incomecountries,theincidencedecreasesto9percentbutstilltotalsover81millionchildreninlabour(duetothehighpopulationofchildreninthesecountries),theequivalentofGermany’sentirepopulation.Inupper-middle-incomecountries,theILOestimatesthataround6percentallchildrenareinvolvedinchildlabour,amountingtoover12million.Thisdatashowsthatchildlabourisnotlimitedtothepoorestcountries.Infact,whileincomeandpovertyareveryimportantdeterminantsofchildlabour,theyarenottheonlyreasonsfamiliessendtheirchildrentowork.Assuch,actionsaimedatraisingnationalandfamilyincomelevelsareimportantbutwillnotbesufficientontheirowntoeliminatechildlabour.

19Turner,201320ILO,2013b


FragileandemergencycontextsChildlabourisexacerbatedbyconflict,disastersandfragility,whichhavedevastatingeffectsonchildren’slives.Exposuretochildlabourinthesecontextsisgreaterasaresultoftheimpactofhouseholdpovertyandlivelihoodpractices,aswellasfamilyseparation,andnegativecopingstrategieswherebychildlabourisseenasameanstosurviveexternalthreats.Inconflicts,childrenmaybeforcedtobecomechildsoldiers.21Furthermore,inthesesettings,children’saccesstoeducationisseverelycompromisedortotallyabsent,andtheopportunitycostoflabour–thatis,thebenefitstheywouldreceiveiftheywerenotinvolvedinlabourbutinotheractivitiessuchaseducation–arelow,asserviceprovisionistypicallyeroded.However,datafromfragileandconflict-affectedstatesisnotconsistent.Assuch,itisdifficulttoassessthenumberofchildlabourers.Nevertheless,genuineeffortstoleavenochildbehindmusttakeaccountthesituationofchildlabourersinsuchchallengingcontexts,astheyoftenfaceevenharsherconditionsthanchildlabourerselsewhere.

Lookingatstatisticsfromthecountrieswiththehighestlevelsofchildlabourprovidesadifferentperspectiveontheproblem.InthecaseofLatinAmericainparticular,theregionalaggregateshideparticularlyhighratesofchildlabourintwocountries.AccordingtoWorldDevelopmentIndicators(WDI),16outofthetop20countrieswiththehighestchildlabourratesarefoundinSub-SaharanAfrica,withtwoinLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean(NicaraguaandHaiti)andalsotwoinAsia(NepalandtheKyrgyzRepublic).Astaggeringtwo-thirdsofchildrenaged7–14yearsworkinCameroon,thehighestnumberaccordingtotheWDI.22Amongtheotherregions,Nicaraguaholdsseventhplaceglobally,andNepalis11th,asthecountrywiththehighestchildlabourrateinAsiaandthePacific.

Figure 2: top 20 countries with children aged between 7-14 in employment and working and studying, 2014 (percent)

Source:WDI(2016).Note:TheWDItakedataonchildreninemploymentfromthelatestcensusavailableforcountriesglobally.Somecountriesdonothaveavailablecensusdatasotheyarenotincludedinthelist(e.g.DjiboutiorMyanmar);othershaveoldcensusdatathatmightnotreflectthecurrentsituationofthecountry(e.g.availablecensusdatafromSyriaisfrom2006).

Theabovedatamustbereadbearinginmindthedifficultiesofdatacollectioninmanyoftheabovecountries,includingfragileandemergencycontexts–difficultiesthatarelikelytoresultinunder-reporting,Nevertheless,Figure2alsoindicatesthat,ofthosechildrenengagedinlabourinthesecountries,manyworkandstudyatthesametime.Ofchildrenengagedinemploymentinthesecountries,theshareofthoseaged7–14whoreportbothworkingandstudyingatthesametimeislarge.In15ofthese20countries,overhalfofallchildrenworkingarealsostudying,withover90percentofchildrendoingsointheKyrgyzRepublic(99percent),Uganda(93percent),Malawi(95percent)andHaiti(92percent).Thisimpliesthat,whilechildrenaremakinganefforttocontinuetheireducation,workcanplaceafurtherburdenontheirlives,.Indeed,evidencepresentedbelow(section4.1)indicatesthatsuchworkcanoftenresultinunderperformanceineducationintheshorttermandinareductioninhumancapitalaccumulationinthemediumterm,linkedwithlowerwagesoverthelife-course.Thissituationisallthemorecomplexsince,formanyofthesechildrenwholiveinpovertyandwhosefamilieshavelimitedlivelihoodandincome-generatingoptions,workisnecessarytofundeducation-relatedcostssuchasfees,uniforms,schoolsupplies,etc.

21ChildSoldiersInternational,2012,inGhazal,2013;CPWG,201222WDI,2016


3.2 ThemaincausesofchildlabourAsnotedabove,household-levelpovertyiswithoutadoubtakeydriverofchildlabour.However,animportantbodyofevidenceindicatesthatnotonlypovertybutalsovulnerabilitytorisksandshocksplaysadeterminingroleindrivingchildrentowork.Childlabourisanimportantnegativecopingmechanismforhouseholdsinpoorandresource-constrainedcontexts.AccordingtoanalysispresentedbytheILO,23poorhouseholdsthatdonothaveaccesstocreditarelesslikelytobeabletopostponechildren’sinvolvementinworkandinvestintheireducation,andaremorelikelytohavetoresorttochildlabourinordertomeetbasicneedsanddealwithuncertainty.Exposuretoshockscanhaveasimilarimpactonhouseholddecisions.Householdstypicallyrespondtoatemporaryreductionintheirincomebyeitherborrowingortakingmoneyoutfromtheirsavings.However,intheabsenceofsavingsorcredit,parentsmayhavetoresorttochildlabour.

Countrystudiesonchildlabourconsistentlyshowthat,undersimilarcircumstances,poorchildrenaremorelikelytoworkthantheirbetter-offpeers.24Agrowingnumberofstudiesdrawingonlongitudinaldataalsoconsistentlysupporttheviewthatpovertyinduceshouseholdstorelymoreonchildlabour,25becausetheyuseitasabufferagainstnegativeshocks,whichcanincludedrought,foodorcropfailure,adultunemploymentandillnessinthefamily.Theoreticalliteraturehasalsopointedouttheimportanceofaccesstothecreditmarketindetermininghouseholddecisionsconcerningchildren’sactivitiesandthereactionofhouseholdstoadverseshocks.26

Assuch,whilepovertyisclearlyamajordriverofchildlabour,itisbynomeanstheonlyfactor.Thismeansthatinterventionstoaddresschildlabourmustbeholisticandmulti-layered,toensuretheyadequatelytacklethedifferentdriversthatkeepchildrenindiversecontextsandsituationsengagedinchildlabour.

Someofthefactorscontributingtochildlabourinclude:

• economic vulnerability associated with poverty, risk and shocks plays a key role in driving children to work: Poorhouseholds,withoutaccesstocredit,arelesslikelytobeabletopostponechildren’sinvolvementinworkandinvestintheireducation,andmorelikelytohavetoresorttochildlabourinordertomeetbasicneedsanddealwithuncertainty.Naturalorman-madeshocks(whichcanbelinkedtofragileandconflict-affectedcontextsbutcanalsohappeninmorestablecontexts)canhaveasimilarimpactonhouseholddecisions.Householdstypicallyrespondtowhattheyregardasatemporaryreductionintheirincomebyeitherborrowingordrawingdownsavings.However,whentheseoptionsarenotavailable,ornotavailableonthescalerequired,thosehouseholdsmayhavetoresorttochildlabour.27Insuchcircumstances,familiesseetheopportunitycostofchildlabourashighgiventhattheincomegeneratedbychildrenisnoteasytosubstitute.

• barriers to education:Basiceducationisnotfreeinallcountries,andisnotalwaysavailableforallchildren,especiallyinremoteruralareas.Additionally,supplementarycostsrelatingtopurchaseofuniforms,textbooksandstationerycanalsopresentabarrier.Whereschoolsareavailable,thequalityofeducationcanbepoorandcontentperceivedasirrelevant,renderingittobeseenasnotagoodoptionforchildren.Thisisparticularlythecaseinfragileandconflict-affectedcontexts,whereserviceprovisionhasbrokendown.Schoolattendanceisthusseenastooexpensiveforlow-incomehouseholdsgivenitsdirectcosts,suchasforbooksanduniforms,and/ortheopportunitycostsassociatedwiththeforegonebenefitsoftheincomederivedfromchildlabour.Thefamilythereforemakesashort-term‘rational’choiceofsendingchildrentoworkratherthantoschool.28

• discriminatory social and cultural norms: Withfewopportunitiesopentochildrenwithmoreeducation,parentsarelikelytoshareaculturalnorminwhichlabourisseenasthemostproductiveuseofachild’stime.Childrenareoftenexpectedtofollowintheirparents’footstepsandarefrequentlysummonedto‘help’otherfamilymembers,oftenatayoungage.Inadditiontothis,discriminatorygenderpractices,suchaskeepinggirlshometocarryoutdomesticwork,andchildmarriage,whichfrequentlyresultsingirlsenteringthehusband’shomeinaconditionofservitude,arealsodriversofchildlabour.

• market demand:Employersmayprefertohirechildrenbecausetheyare‘cheaper’thantheiradultcounterparts,canbedispensedofeasilyiflabourdemandsfluctuateandalsoformadocile,obedientworkforcethatwillnotseek

23 ILO,2013a24e.g.UCW,2009a,2009b25e.g.Edmonds,201226Guarcelloetal.,200327 ILO,2013a28UN,2008


toorganiseitselfforprotectionandsupport.A‘nimblefingers’theoryalsosuggeststhatspecificphysicalattributesofchildren(suchastheirsmallhands,whichareviewedasadvantageousincertaintypesofproduction)influencethedemandforchildlabour.29

• inadequate/poor enforcement of legislation and policies to protect children:Childlabourpersistswhennationallawsandpoliciestoprotectchildrenarelackingorarenoteffectivelyimplemented.Inaddition,traditionallawscanoftenbeinoppositiontoformallegislationandcanfavourpracticeslinkedtochildlabour.

• lack of decent work opportunities for youth:Iftherearenoorfewdecentworkopportunitiesforyoungpeoplegraduatingfromschool,thereislittleincentiveforhouseholdstoinvestintheirchildren’seducation,astheyseenoreturnonthis.Underthesecircumstances,childlabourcanbearationaleconomicchoiceforsomehouseholds.

Thisevidenceshowsthat,inadditiontopromotingeconomicgrowthandaggregatepovertyreductionprogressastoolsagainstchildlabour,additionalnationalpoliciesandprogrammesthathelpmitigateandovercomethesedriverswillbemoresuccessful.

3.3 Analyticalframework:Eliminatechildlabour–contribute toeconomicgrowth

Havingdiscussedthedefinitionsofchildlabour,itsglobaltrendsanditsmaincauses,ananalyticalframeworkcanbeusedtoexploreevidenceonthedirectandindirect‘transmissionpathways’throughwhicheliminatingchildlabourcancontributetopromotingeconomicgrowth.Therearealsoimportantlinksthatrunintheoppositedirection:weakeconomicgrowthaswellasunequaleconomicgrowthcanalsocontributetochildlabourinanumberofways.Forexample,theycanresultinhigherlevelsofhouseholdpoverty;triggerunderemploymentandlowwagelabourmarketsthatattractuneducated/unskilledlabourerssuchaschildren;orleadtolowerpublicinvestmentsineducation.Thepatternofeconomicgrowthmattersforpovertyreduction30andachievinginclusivegrowthisnotautomatic.Evidencesuggeststhat,inadditiontomacroeconomicstability,thebusinessenvironmentandlabourmarketpolicies,awiderrangeofeconomicandsocialpoliciesisrequiredtoachievebetterdevelopmentoutcomes31,andthisincludespoliciestoeliminatechildlabour.

Thisreportfocusesonthefirstpartoftheargument:howeliminatingchildlabourcancontributetoeconomicgrowth.Itdoessoinabidtobuildeconomicelementsintothealreadystrongchildrightscaseforeliminatingthisproblem,andindoingsoappealingtopolicy-makerswhotypicallyneglectchildlabourasa‘social’or‘rights’issuewithoutrealisingitisalsoanimportanteconomicissue.

Thisanalyticalframework,supportedbyastrongevidencebase,showstheimportanceofincorporatingtheeliminationofchildlabourinanyoverallstrategyforachievinginclusiveeconomicgrowth.

29OECD,200330Martins,201331Martins,2013

© 2016 World VisionAgirlinCambodiawhoreceivedassistanceoutofhazardousworkviaanon-formaleducationprogramme.Shenowrunsherownhairdressingbusiness.


Figure 3: analytical framework: how eliminating child labour can contribute to promoting economic growth

Themainpathwaythroughwhichtheeliminationofchildlabourcontributestoeconomicgrowthiseducation:eliminatingchildlabourcontributestoincreasinghumancapital,whichisthestockofskillsthelabourforcepossesses.Alargebodyofliteraturehasrevealedthatoneofthemostimportantfactorsofeconomicgrowthishumancapital.Thenewtheoryofeconomicgrowthemphasisestheimportanceofeducationandinnovation(elementsofhumancapital)inlong-termeconomicgrowth.32Humancapitalaccumulationresultsfromacombinationofeducationalattainmentandhighereducationquality.33Whilethequalityofeducationisnotlinkedtochildlabour,educationalattainmentis.

AshighlightedinGordonBrown’s2012report,34researchcarriedoutbytheILO’sCentreforUnderstandingChildWork(UCW)underlinesthedamaginginteractionbetweenchildlabourandeducation.AccordingtoUCWestimates,aroundone-quarteroftheworld’sout-of-schoolprimary-agepopulation–15millionintotal–isinvolvedinchildlabour.Whileestablishingthespecificrelationshipbetweeneducationandchildemploymentisdifficult,whatisclearisthatchildlabourexacerbatestheriskofbeingoutofschool.Forinstance,inPakistanandBangladesh,childlabourersaremorethanfourtimeslesslikelytobeinschool.Further,thetimeintensityofemploymenthasacriticalbearingoneducationprospects.Usingaseriesofdetailednationalsurveys,UCWdocumentsaninverserelationshipbetweenhoursworkedandschoolattendance:Childrenworking38hoursare40percentmorelikelytobeoutofschoolthanthoseworkinganextra0–5hours.

Eliminatingchildlabourisalsoimportantforitseffectonimprovingthechancesforyoungpeopletohaveaccesstodecentwork.Effortstoreducechildlabourcanenabledecentworkinmorethanoneway:byreducingoreliminatingharmfulformsofworkinwhichchildlabourersaretypicallyfound;throughanupwardpressureonadultwages,whichareotherwisedrivendownbycompetingcheapchildlabour;andalsobyenablingyoungpeopletoacquirehigherlevelsofeducationandmoreskills,whichcanresultingreateraccesstodecentworkopportunities.

Positiveprogressinthesevariablesresultsinhigherindividualandhouseholdincome.Additionalpositiveoutcomesresultingfromtheeliminationofchildlabourthathavepotential,indirecteffectsoneconomicgrowthincludethepromotionofsocialcohesionwithchildren/youngpeoplewhohaveparticipatedmoreequitablyinsociety.Furthermore,giventheassociationbetweenhazardousformsofworkandviolenceagainstchildren,thelatterwouldbereduced,withimportantreductionsincoststotheeconomy.

32Pelinescu,201433Hanushek,201334Brown,2012


4.Eliminatingchildlabourto contributetoeconomicgrowth:Exploringthepathways

Inthissectionweexploreevidenceintheliteratureonhowinvestingineliminatingchildlabourcancontributetowardinclusiveeconomicgrowth,promotingglobalprosperityandtacklingextremepoverty.

Twocomprehensiveframeworkshavesoughttobringtogethervariousmacroeconomicargumentstoendchildlabour.Oneframework,proposedbyRichardAnker,35highlightsarangeofmacroeconomicargumentstosupporttheeliminationofchildlabour,.Theseincludethereductionofhealthcosts;anincreaseinhumancapital(linkedtoeducationandhealth);improvementsinincomedistributionleadingtolowerinequality;reductionsinsocialexclusion;increasesininvestment;improvementsingenderequality;increaseddemocratictendenciesleadingtogrowth;andareductioninfertilityrates,alsoleadingtogrowth.Ankerfurthernotestheeffectthatchildlabourhasondecreasingwageratesandincreasingadultunemployment,thoughhighlightstheneedfornuancesondeterminingtheextentofimpactonthesefactors.Akeyassumptionofthisframeworkistheexistenceofgoodquality,safeandaccessibleschools/educationasanalternativetochildlabour.

RossanaGalliprovidesasimilarframeworkforanalysis.36Herreviewoftheliteratureseekstobridgetheeconomicimpactofchildlabourathouseholdlevel(andthedifferingoutcomesovertheshorterandlongerterm)withtheimpactofchildlabouratthelevelofthenationaleconomy(aggregatelevel).Gallidiscussesoutcomesofchildlabourthatcanhaveanegativeimpactoneconomicgrowth:reductioninhumancapitalaccumulation;higherfertilityrates;negativehealthoutcomes;reductionininvestmentandtechnicalchange;andhigherlevelsofincomeandgenderinequality.Shealsonoteschildlabour’spotentialimpactontheadultlabourmarket,includingunemploymentandwages.Thelaterargumenthangsonwhetheradultsandchildrenaresubstitutesforoneanother.Galliconcludesthisisamixedpictureanddependentonanumberofcontextualfactors.

Finally,SarkarandSarkar37arguetherehasbeentoogreatanemphasisonpovertyasthechiefdriverofchildlabour.Theysuggestinequalityisanequallyimportantcomponent.Theyhighlightastudyshowingthatincreasesinlandholdingsresultinincreasedworkinghoursamongchildrenandsuggestthatmanyhouseholdswillremaintrappedinintergenerationalchildlabourasaresultoflocalinequality,despitetheeconomicgrowtharoundthem.Thisisareminderoftheimportanceofthinkingmoreholisticallyaboutstrategiestoeliminatechildlabour,aspartofanapproachthatpromotesinclusivegrowth.

4.1Eliminatingchildlabourtopromotehumancapitaldevelopment, akeydriverofeconomicgrowth

TheILOprovidesdetailsoftheeconomiccostsandbenefitsofinterveningtoendchildlabourinternationally.Itsuggestsarangeofsignificantbenefitstoendingchildlabourbutplacesanemphasisontwoareasthatpresentthestrongestbasisforthemeasurementofcostsoneconomicincomeassociatedwithchildlabour:

1)Universaleducation(eachyearofadditionalschoolingleadstoan11percentriseinlaterearningsforanindividualonaverage);and2)Health(usingtheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)disability-adjustedlifeyear(DALY)toestimatetheeffectchildlabourhasonhealth).38

EducationoutcomesforchildlabourersCertaineducation-relatedindicators,suchasgrossprimaryandsecondaryenrolment,netsecondaryenrolmentandprimaryschoolcompletion,havepositiveeffectsoneconomicgrowth39.Morebroadly,ithasbeenshownthat,justashumancapital(acquiredthrougheducation,training,experienceandmobilityinthelabourmarket)producesindividualeconomicgrowth(income),sodothecorrespondingsocialornationalaggregates.40

35Anker,200036Galli,200137SarkarandSarkar,201238ILO,200439AndersonandHague,200740Mincer,1981


Despitethelimitedpositiveimpactoflearningbasicwork-relatedskillsandearningmoneytofundeducation,childlabourreduceshumancapitalaccumulation.41Inaddition,theyoungertheageatwhichchildrenstartworking,thegreatertheimpactofworkonlossofeducation.Thisisshowntobeparticularlythecaseforchildrenunder13,whoexperienceadditionalnegativeimpactsaboveandbeyondeducation,includingonhealthandattitudes.42DatafromVietnamshowschildlabourleadstosubstantialnegativeimpactsonschoolattendanceandachievement.Furthermore,thistranslatestoreducedoverallcumulatedearningsinthemidtolongterm.43AnotherstudyshowsthatchildlabourinTanzaniahasasignificantimpactonschoolingforboys:onestandarddeviationincreaseinchildlabourleadstothelossofayear’seducation,asmeasuredafter10years.Suchanincreasedoesnotindicatealossforgirls,however.Thisisexplainedbythefactthatgirlsaremorelikelytobeinvolvedinearlymarriage,sotheirdomesticworkisnotaccountedfor.Indeed,theyalsoneverthelessbecomevulnerabletoexperiencingothernegativeoutcomes,includingtotheirhealth.44

Figure4illustratesthisissueclearly.ItwasdevelopedbytheILOusingstatisticsfromitsSchooltoWorkTransitionSurveysandshowsthatyouthleavingschoolatorbelowtheminimumworkingageof15areatgreaterriskofremainingoutsidetheworldofworkaltogether.Earlyschoolleaverswhodoeventuallytransitionarelesslikelythanmore-educatedyouthtoeversecurestablejobs.45

Figure 4: early school leavers are generally at greater risk of remaining outside the world of work altogether

Notes:(a)Countriesselectedonthebasisofdataavailability.(b)ECA–EasternEuropeandCentralAsiaregion.(c)MENA–MiddleEastandNorthAfricaregion.(d)OPT–OccupiedPalestinianTerritory.

Source:ILO(2015)onthebasisofcalculationsfromILOSchooltoWorkTransitionSurveys.

ChildrenandadolescentsinBrazilwhowerenotworkingwereshowntohavebetterschoolresultsthanthosewhowere.46AnotherBrazil-focusedstudyfoundthenegativeimpactthatworkhadonchildrenintheirmathsandPortugueseschoolresultswastheequivalentofbetweenaquarterandahalfayearoflearningonaverage.Itconcludedthatworkingwhileinschoolhadnegativeandlong-termconsequencesforchildrenwhencomparedwiththosewhodonotwork.47

Childlabourhasinfactbeensuggestedasthe‘dominantvariableexplainingprimaryandsecondaryenrolments’across175countries,withperceivedvariablereturnsonprimaryeducationacrossdifferentcontextslimitinghouseholds’rationaldecisionsaroundeducatingchildren.48Figure5providesevidencefromnationalhouseholdsurveysthatyouthswhoworkedaschildrenhavemuchlowerlevelsofeducationalattainment.

41BasuandTzannatos,2003:16042BasuandTzannatos,2003:16143Beegleetal.,200544Beegleetal.,200845 ILO,201546Bezerraetal.,200947Emersonetal.,201448Chaubeyetal.,2007


Figure 5: young persons aged 15–24, who are no longer in education, with primary level education or less, and with prior involvement in child labour. (selected countries classified by income level (percent))

Note:WorldBankcountryincomeclassificationsbygrossnationalincome(GNI)percapitaasof1July2012–low-income:$1,025orless;lowermiddleincome:$1,026–4,035;uppermiddleincome:$4,036–12,475;andhigh-income$12,476ormore.

Source:ILO(2015)onthebasisofcalculationsfromnationalhouseholdsurveys.

However,itisnotjustchildrenworkingthatresultsinadampeningeffectonhumancapitalaccumulationalone;rather,thenumberofhoursworkedisanimportantdeterminant.Onestudyshowsthatanincreaseinhoursworkedbychildrendecreasesthelevelofhumancapitalaccumulationandthat‘anadditionalhourofworkadayincreasestheprobabilityoffallingbehindbyjustover1.6percentagepoints’andthatthefirsthoursofworkhaveagreaterimpactonschoolachievementthansuccessiveones.49Evenmodestlevelsofchildlabouratearlyagescauseadverseconsequencesforthedevelopmentofcognitiveabilities.50Suchfindingsstronglyrefutethepresumptionthatchildlabourmaybeneutralorcomplementarytoacademicperformance,providedthechildremainsenrolledinschool.Instead,childlabourconsistentlymakesayearofeducationlessproductiveinthegenerationofhumancapital,notonlyreducingthevalueofinvestmentsineducationbutalsolimitingtheprospectsofchildren’sincometrajectoryandconsequentlyreducingtheircontributiontoeconomicgrowth.

(a) male

(b) Female

49RosatiandRossi,2001:3050Sanchezetal.,2005


Healthoutcomesforchildrenduringtheirlife-courseTheevidenceofhealthimpactsonchildrenasaresultofchildlabourismoreambiguousthanthatoneducation,andhighlydependentonthecontextandthetypeofworkachildisengagedin.Anumberofstudiesonthissubjectarehowevernoteworthy.

Onepaperconsidersthepotentiallong-termhealthconsequencesofchildlabouranddeterminesthattheycanbenumerousandsignificantdependingonthetypeandintensityofwork51.Somecaseshavebeendocumentedinwhichchildrenfaceimportantimpactsontheirhealth,inboththeshortandthelongterm,particularlythoseinvolvedinhazardousworkortheworstformsofchildlabour.Insuchcases,poorhealthoutcomesaffectchildren’swell-beingandlevelofhumancapital.

Anotherpaperfindsthatworkhasameasurableimpactonhealthwhenlookingatthenumberofworkinghourschildrenundertake,usinghouseholdsurveydatafromBangladesh,BrazilandCambodia52.Forexample,itfindseachadditionalworkinghouradds0.3percentprobabilityofreportedhealthproblemsinCambodiaand0.1percentprobabilityofawork-relatedinjuryinBrazil.Thepaperalsohighlightsthattypeofworkhasasignificantbearingontheriskprobability.However,thereislimitedanalysisoftheseverityofhealth-relatedissuesorthelong-termhealthimplicationsofchildlabour.

Twoadditionalstudiesfurtherfindlinksbetweenchildlabourandpoorhealthoutcomes.UsingdatafromtheGuatemalanationalsurvey,childlabourisfoundtobeharmfultohealthinthelongterm,increasingthechances‘badhealth’asanadultbyabout40percent.Theresearchsuggestshealtheffectsderivedfromchildlabour‘mighttaketimetomanifest’,whichhasresultedintherebeinglimiteddatainthisareauntilrecently.53

AfurtherstudyusestwosetsofdatafromVietnamtoaddresstheimpactofworkonchildren’shealth54.IthasaparticularfocusonagriculturalworkandusesBodyMassIndexandreportedillnessasindicators.Thestudyfindsnoimmediateimpactonhealthforchildrenworkinginagriculture,althoughitsuggestsaheightenedprobabilityofsicknessafterfiveyears.Itnotessomeimmediateimpactsonhealthforchildrenworkinginurbanareas.

Whiletheevidencedependsontheparticularsituationinwhichthechildlabouristakingplace,therearesuggestionsthatthehealthimpactsonchildrenengagedintheworstformsofchildlabourinparticular,cantakeasignificanttollonchildren’sdevelopmentandtheirproductivecapacityintheshortandmediumterm.Thisisanareainneedoffurtherresearch.

4.2EliminatingchildlabourtopromotedecentworkPromotingeconomicgrowthanddevelopmentislinkedtogeneratingdecentworkopportunitiesforall,aswellasenhancingthedevelopmentofrelevanteducational,lifeandwork-relatedskillsthatwillrendertheyouthworkforcemoreemployableandproductive.Childlabourlimitsthepossibilityofachievingthese.Assuch,eliminatingitisinstrumentaltofulfillingtheeconomicdevelopmentagenda.

Education,skillsdevelopmentandaccesstodecentwork,particularlyforyouthAccordingtoresearchbyILO’sUnderstandingChildLabourresearchprogramme,55thedegreetowhichworkinterfereswithachild’sschoolingisoneofthemostimportantdeterminantsofthelong-termimpactofearlyworkexperience.Reducededucationalopportunitiesconstitutethemainlinkbetweenchildlabour,ontheonehand,andyouthemploymentoutcomes,ontheother.Clearly,iftheexigenciesofworkmeanthatchildrenaredeniedschoolingaltogetherorarelessabletoperformintheclassroom,thenthesechildrenwillnotacquirethehumancapitalnecessaryformoregainfulemploymentuponenteringadulthood.

AstudyonadultearningsinBrazilshowsthatchildlabouraffectsadultearningsthroughitsimpactsonworkexperience,yearsofschoolingandhumancapitalattainedperyearofschooling56.Thefindingssuggestthatadultswhoenterthelabourmarketbeforeage13earn20percentlessperhour,have26percentlowerincomesandare14percentmorelikelytobeinthelowesttwoincomequintiles.Overall,childlabourraisestheprobabilityofbeingpoorlaterinlifeby13percentto31percent.Thesemagnitudesarelarge.Ontheotherhand,whilechildlabourreducestheproductivityofschooling,theneteffectofanadditionalyearofschoolingonadultwagesremainspositive,evenifthechildworkswhileinschool.Consequently,policiesthatdelaythedroppingoutofschoolappeartobeeffectiveatmitigatingadultpoverty.

51O’Donnelletal.,200252Guarcelloetal.,200453RosatiandStraub,200654O’Donnelletal.,200355UCW,201156 Ilahietal.,2005


Usingadatasetderivedfrom28countries,theILOhasarguedthatchildlabour,whencombinedwithlimitededucation,resultsinchildrenhavinggreaterdifficultiestransitioninginto‘goodjobs’later57.FurtherevidencethatchildlabourhinderstheeducationandskillsdevelopmentnecessaryforworkisfoundinasurveyprogrammesupportedbytheStatisticalInformationandMonitoringProgrammeonChildLabour–thestatisticalarmoftheILOInternationalProgrammeontheEliminationofChildLabour(IPEC).Thissurveycontainsinformationontheageatwhichindividualsbeginworking,allowingforsimplecomparisonsoftheemploymentandschoolingoutcomesofthosealreadyworkingbytheageof15yearswiththosewhobeganworkafterthisage.Theresultsofthiscomparisonareconsistentacrossthe12countrieswherethisdataisavailable:priorinvolvementinchildlabourisassociatedwithlowereducationalattainmentandwithjobsthatfailtomeetbasicdecentworkcriteria.Youthburdenedbyworkaschildrenareconsistentlymorelikelytohavetosettleforunpaidfamilyjobs(Figure6a)andarealsomorelikelytobeinlow-payingjobs(Figure6b).58

Figure 6: young persons who worked as children are more likely to be unpaid family workers

Note:WorldBankcountryincomeclassificationsbyGNIpercapitaasof1July2012–low-income$1,025orless;lowermiddleincome:$1,026–$4,035;uppermiddleincome:$4,036–$12,475;high-income$12,476ormore.:Source:ILO(2015)onthebasisofcalculationsfromnationalhouseholdsurveys.

Thisevidencesupportstheneedtoinvestineffectivechildlabourreductionstrategiesinordertofulfilthecommitmenttodecentworkforyouthandpromoteeconomicprosperityinthemediumterm.

(a) male

(b) Female

57 ILO,201558 ILO,2015


PushingadultwagesupwardRecentstudieshavegeneratedmoreevidenceregardingtheeffectofchildlabouronadultlabourandwages.Doran59 usesdatafromMexicotoshowthatadultworkcanbesubstitutedforchildworkinthecontextofagriculturallabour.Ifadultandchildlabouraresubstitutes,asthisstudyassumes,thentheimpactofchildlabouronadultemploymentorunderemploymentislikelytobesignificant.Doransuggeststhateffortstoreducechildlabourinsimilarcontexts‘mayhavepositiveimpactsonadultwagesandemployment’.60However,whilstthisevidencesuggeststhatthereisacasetobemadetoreducechildlabourtocontributetopushingadultwagesupward,moreevidenceisneededinthisarea.

4.3 Reducingviolenceagainstchildrenanditsassociatedcosts totheeconomy

Childlabourthatentailschildenslavement,familyseparation,exposuretoserioushazardsandillnessesandisolationconstitutestheworstformsofchildlabour.Suchworklikewisehasadverseconsequencesforachild’sphysicalandpsychologicalhealth,increasedexposuretootherformsofviolenceandimplicationsforhisorherfutureincome-generatingactivities.Moreover,thedefinitionofviolenceagainstchildrenundertheUNConventionontheRightsoftheChildincludes‘maltreatmentorexploitation,includingsexualabuse’.Heretheoverlapoverlapwiththeworstformsofchildlabourisclear.Thereareimportanteconomiccostsrelatedtotheworstformsofchildlabourduetotheeconomiclossesincurredbychildren’sslowerphysicalandpschologicaldevelopment.Thesecostscanbelargeandcanhaveconsequencesinthemediumandlongtermbyimpactingonchildrenandyoungpeople’sproductivityandabilitytoparticipateinsocietyastheybecomeadults61.

4.4 GirlsinvolvedinchildlabourandconsequencesongrowthTheaboveanalysisreferstobothgirlsandboys,andoutlinesthatstaisticscan,atfirstglance,beseentosuggestthattherearemoreboysinvolvedinchildlabourthangirls.However,asnotedinSection2above,theinvolvementofgirls’inchildlabourislikelytobeunderestimated,.Thisisparticularlyso,giventheirmorefrequentengagementindomesticworkoutsidethehomeasaformofcheaplabour.–afactthatislargelyhiddenandhighlyunderreported,.Generally,childdomesticworkersdonotattendschoolatall,andmanyareexposedtoviolenceandexploitation.Thistypeofintensive,evenexploitative,workcanalsotakeplaceintheformofunpaidhouseholdworkintheparentalhome,or–ininstancesofchildmarriage–themaritalhome.Thus,whilstworktopreventpractices,includingchildmarriage,thatputgirlsatriskofengaginginchildlabourmustcontinueitisalsoimportanttoimprovethesituationofgirlsalreadyinvolvedinsuchlabour.Thisisparticularlysointhelightofampleevidenceoftheaggregatevaluetogirls,theirfamiliesandtheeconomyasawholeoftheircontinuinginschool,–evenaftermarriage,forexample.ImprovingthesituationofgirlsalreadyinvolvedinsuchlabouristhereforeanessentialelementofacomprehensiveDFIDstrategytoachievegirls’andwomen’sempowerment.

Forexample,Belmonteetal.62analysesthebenefitsofinvestingingirls’education.Theseincludeanestimatethat1percentincreaseinthelevelofwomen’seducationgenerates0.3percentinadditionaleconomicgrowth.63Aswithotherreports64,Belmonteetalalsohighlighttheimportanceofmaternaleducation.Theysuggestthatchildrenwithmotherswhoarenoteducatedaretwiceaslikelytobeoutofschoolthanthosewithmotherswhohavesomeeducation.65Thisreiteratesanintergenerationaleducation-relatedtrapthathassimilaritiestochildlabour,andlikelyasignificantoverlap.

59Doran,201260Doran,2012:3461Pereznietoetal.,201462Belmonteetal.,200963Belmonteetal.,2009:564e.g.RosatiandRossi,200165Belmonteetal.,2009:6


liFe sKills training encourages bangladeshi girls to pursue their education and their dreams

Limawasabrightstudentandambitioussincechildhood.DespitegrowingupinaparticularlydeprivedpartofBangladesh,shealwaysdreamedofbecominganengineer.

Lima’sfatherwasanassistantinacourt(dailybasiswork)andhermotherwasahousewife.In2012,whenshewasinGrade9,Lima’sfatherbecameseverelyillandhadtoleavework.Inordertosupporttheirfamilyoffive,hermothertookajobatashrimpfactory.HerincomewasnotsufficienttobeartheeducationcostsofbothLimaandhertwobrothers.

Limahadtodecideifshewouldsacrificeherowneducationsothatherbrotherscouldgotoschool.Shewasawareofthesufferingofherfamily,andthoughtherbrothersshouldcontinuetheirstudiesastheycouldtakeontheroleofbreadwinners.Shedecidedthatshewasnolongerdestinedtobeeducated.

Atthistime,WorldVisionBangladesh’sChildSafetyNetProjectstartedalocalChildFriendlySpace(CFS).InadditiontotheCFS’normalactivities,theprojectprovidedLifeSkill-BasedEducation(LSBE)toadolescentsinLima’sarea.LimaheardabouttheopportunityanddecidedtogotoanLSBEsession.Afterattending,sherealisedhowimportanthereducationwas,anddecidedtopursueherdreamtobecomeanengineeroncemore.

Limaprovedherselfcompetentenoughtobecomeapeereducatorforthecommunity.Shewasprovidedwithbooks,educationalmaterialsandschoolfeesbytheproject.LimapassedtheSecondarySchoolCertificateexamin2014withgrade‘A+’.Thisgaveheraccesstoacourseinengineering.

Now,alongwithherstudies,LimaworksasapeereducatorandconductsLSBEsessionsfortheotheradolescentgirlsinhercommunity.Aftercompletingeachsession,Limagets2000taka(approximately$25),whichhelpshertocontinuehereducation.

‘IthinkLSBEhasbroughtagreatchangeinthecommunity,’saysoneparticipant’smother.‘IneverthoughtIwouldenrolmydaughterinaschool,asIhadthetraditionalbeliefthatgirlsareborntotakecareofthehousehold.Moreover,mydaughterismentallychallenged.ButtheadolescentgirlsofthiscommunityhavemademeunderstandthatIshouldnotrepeatthemistakeofmyparentsandruinthelifeofmydaughter.SoIenrolledherinthisCFSandnowIdreamthatmydaughterwillbehighlyeducated.’

ThroughtheLSBEtraining,Limaandherpeerswereabletostopachildmarriageinthecommunity,andallofthemareencouragingtheparentsofthecommunitytoconcentrateongirls’education.

Limanowdreamsofcompletingherhighereducationabroadandbecomearenownedengineerforhercountry.‘LSBEhasjustchangedmyviewoflife,’saysLima.‘IwasadreamerbutLSBEhasmademeawinner.Iwillneverquitinanysituation.Iwanttomotivateallthegirlslikeme,whohavetofacebitterrealityeverydaytochasetheirdreams.Girlsarenotborntojustbakecakes;rathertheycanwinineverysphereoflifewithstrongdeterminationandruthlessdreams.IwillfulfilmydreamsandonedayIwillcontributetothewell-beingofthechildrenofmycommunity.’

Source:http://wvi.org/education-and-life-skills/article/life-skills-training-encourages-bangladeshi-girls-pursue-their

Chaubeyetal.havealsoundertakenagenderanalysisintheirworkonchildlabour.Theysuggestthat,duringasuddeneconomicdownturnofthekindthatcanresultfromaneconomiccrisis,economicadjustmentordrought,girlsbecomemorevulnerabletochildlabourthanboys.66ChabaanandCunninghamfurtherreportthatthereispotentialforgrowthofover60percentofgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)insomedevelopingcontextsifgirlsareassistedandenabledtocompletetheir‘nextlevelofeducation’.67Toaccomplishthis,eliminatingchildlabourmustbepartoftheequation.However,astudybyGablehighlightsthateconomicgrowthalonewillnottackletheconstraintstoeconomicreturnsforinvestmentingirls,givenongoingstructuralconstraintsinmanydevelopingcontexts.Assuch,targetedactionsinanumberofareas,includingchildlabour,needtobeimplemented.68

66Chaubeyetal.,2007:1467ChabaanandCunningham,201168Gable,2013


5.Estimatingthecosttotheeconomyofchildlabour

Ouranalysisoftheliteratureunderlinesthelossestoeconomicgrowththatcanresultfromchildlabour,specificallyvialowerhumancapitalaccumulationthatleadstoproductivitylosses.Asaresultofourinvestigationweareabletopresentaglobalestimateoftheeconomiccosts.Thisisnotstraightforward.Dataonwagedifferentialsandaccuratedataonschooldropoutratesresultingfromchildlabourisnotconsistentlyavailable.Itis,however,usefultogetasenseofthemagnitudeofthecostofchildlabourtotheglobaleconomy,particularlyinthecaseoflower-incomecountries,wheretheaimofdevelopmentassistanceisintendedtobethepromotionofeconomicgrowth.Inordertocalculatetheeconomiccostofchildlabour,weincludedataonthecurrentsizeoftheeconomyasmeasuredbyacountry’slevelofnationalincomeandtheirproductivitymeasuredbyoutcomeperworker,asaproxyforthewagedifferential.

Forthepurposeofthiscalculation,weassumethatnochildlabourersattendschool,giventhedearthofconsistentdataonthenumberofchildrenwhohavedroppedoutasaresultofchildlabour.Thisisconsistentwiththerealityinsomecountrieswhere–asSection2notes–upto95percentofchildlabourersdonotattendtoschool(althoughinothercountriesthepercentageismuchlower).Assuch,thehighertherateofchildlabour,thelowertheproductivityperworkerandthusthehigherthelossofpossiblefutureeconomicgains.

ThemethodologyusedtoestimatethecoststoaggregateeconomicincomeresultingfromchildlabourisbasedonanalysesbyChaabanandCunningham(2011),Pereznietoetal.(2011)andPereznietoetal.(2014),whichutilisetheconceptofproductivitylossduringaperson’slifetime.TheseanalysespresentsthecorrelationoftheaggregateeconomiclossresultingfromchildlabourasapercentageofGDP.TheestimatesaremadeforeachincomegroupbasedontheWorldBank’scategorisationofcountriesaccordingtotheirincomestatus:low-,lower-middle-,upper-middle-andhigh-incomecountries.

table 3: estimates of the economic costs of child labour at global level, by income group ($ billions), 2014

PPPGNI %ofchildrenatwork Estimatedcost, Estimatedcost, ages7–14 lowerend upperend

Low-income 977 22.5 195.4 390.8

Lower-middle-income 17,275 9.0 1,727.5 3,455.1

Upper-middle-income 33,583 6.2 671.7 3,358.3

High-income 56,961 * * *

%ofglobalGNI 2.4% 6.6%Note:*Notavailable

Source:Author’scalculationsbasedoninformationfromILO(2013b),Pereznietoetal.(2014)andWDI2016.

Theseresultsindicatethattheglobalcostsofchildlabourarequitesignificant.Inagivenyear,thelowerestimateoftheeconomiccostsofchildlabouramountsto2.4percentoftheworld’sgrossnationalincome(GNI);intheupperestimatescenarioitreaches6.6percentofglobalGNI.

Wealsocalculatethecostsoftheworstformsofchildlabour,usinghazardousworkasaproxy,asnotedinSection2.ThisdrawsonthemethodologyusedbyPereznietoetal.(2014).Again,herethemaintransmissionmechanismisitseffectsonreducedyearsofschooling.Inthiscase,theestimatedrawsonILO(2013b)dataonthenumberofchildreninvolvedinhazardousworkindifferentregionsperagegroupandconsidersthatyearsofformalschoolinglost(giventhathazardousworkingeneralprecludesformalschooling)arelinkedtotheageatwhichtheystartedworking.Thecostsarethusaresultoftheestimatedlossinincomeresultingfromdroppingoutofschoolearly.

Afewassumptionsareusedtoarriveatthiscalculation,whichmeanstheestimateisanapproximationandneedstobeconsideredonlyasawaytoobtainasenseofthemagnitudeoftheincomelossesresultingfromhazardouswork:

• Averageyearsofschoollostasaresultofhazardousworkareconsideredfromthemid-pointoftheagerangetotheageof18,whichisingeneraltheinternationalageofcompletinghighschool.


• Theshareofchildreninhazardousworkperagegroupisassumedtobethesameinallregions,calculatedasthepercentageinagegroupglobally,althoughtherearelikelytobediscrepanciesinthedifferentregions.

• Theaveragerateofreturntoanadditionalyearofeducationisestimatedtobe10percent,basedonestimatesbyPsacharopoulosandPatrinos(2004),althoughthisvaluevariessignificantlybyregionbasedonthequalityofeducationandreturnstowork.

• Asaproxyofannualearnings,averageGNIpercapitafortheregionisused(basedonWorldBankdata).Thisisbecausenogloballycomparabledataonwagesareavailable,especiallyforlow-incomecountries,wherethistypeofworkismorefrequent.Thisisactuallyausefulproxy,asGNIpercapitatendstobelowerthanaveragewages,whichisasafeassumption,sinceworkersinthiscategoryarelikelytohavebelowaveragewagesduringtheirlifetime.

table 4: annual global costs of hazardous work, based on low- and-middle income regions ($ million), 2014

Estimatednumberof Annualincomeearned Differencein childreninhazardous basedoncomplete potentialannual

workperagegroup schooling(completevalue) income andregion(million) andincompleteschooling (incomeforgone)b (adjustedvalued)a

asia and the Pacific total 33.86 complete 380,146 117,678 5-11 years 7.45 Adjusted 32,244 12-14 years 7.79 Adjusted 54,289 15-17 years 18.96 Adjusted 175,935

latin america & the caribbean total 9.64 complete 95,532 29,573 5-11 years 2.12 Adjusted 8,103 12-14 years 2.22 Adjusted 13,643 15-17 years 5.4 Adjusted 44,213

sub-saharan africa total 28.77 complete 47,350 14,658 5-11 years 6.33 Adjusted 4,016 12-14 years 6.62 Adjusted 6,762 15-17 years 16.11 Adjusted 21,914

middle east & north africa total 5.22 complete 45,564 14,105 5–11 years 1.15 Adjusted 3,865 12–14 years 1.2 Adjusted 6,507 15–17 years 2.93 Adjusted 21,087

grand total 176,013

Notes:aCalculatedbasedonworkingfollowingcompletionofschool(18yearsofage)usingGNIpercapitaasaproxyofaverageannualearningsperregion,WorldBankdata.bThisisthedifferencebetweenincomeearnedonayearlybasiswithcompleteschoolinginlow-incomecountriesandloweror‘adjusted’earningsresultingfromfeweryearsofschoolingconsideringthat10percentofannualaverageearnings(percapitaGNI)islostforeveryyearofschoolingforegone,basedonPsacharopoulosandPatrinos(2004).Childrenwhoareworkingfromanearlierageareassumedtohavelostmoreyearsofschooling.

Source:Author’scalculationsbasedoninformationfromILO(2013b),Pereznietoetal.(2014)andWDI2016.

AccordingtothedatainTable4,estimatesforglobalincomeforegoneasaresultofthelostyearsofschoolingincurredbyachild’sengagementinhazardousworkamountto$176billionannually,.ThisisalmostequivalenttothetotalGDPofBangladeshin2014,whichwas$173billionaccordingtoWorldBankdata.69

69 WorldBanknationalaccountsdata,andOECDNationalAccountsdatafiles,availableat:http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD(consultedinApril2015)


6.Policyandprogrammaticeffortstoeliminatechildlabour

Althoughthenumberofchildlabourersremainsunacceptablyhigh,globaltrendsoverthepast12yearshaveshownimportantprogress.Reductionsinchildlabour–includinginvolvementinhazardouswork–haveseenparticularlypositiveprogresssince2008,evendespitetheglobaleconomiccrisisof2008–9.Thisprogresshasbeenmadepossiblebythosemultipleactors,includinggovernments,workersandemployers’organisations,internationalorganisationsandcivilsociety,whohavemadeeffortsintherightdirection.

Factorscontributingtothisprogressincludethepoliticalcommitmentofgovernments,asillustratedbythehistoricallyrapidratificationofILOConvention182ontheWorstFormsofChildLabourandofILOConvention138ontheMinimumAgeforAdmissiontoEmployment,thetwoprincipallegalpillarsfortheglobalfightagainstchildlabour.Byratifyingtheseconventions,countriestakeaclearstandagainstchildlabourandbecomeaccountableforitselimination.

Accompanyingtheselegalchangesaretheveryimportantpoliticalandlegalcommitmentsatthecountrylevel.Theseneedtobeaccompaniedbyeffectivepolicychoicesandstrongprogrammingonchildlabour,inadditiontosolidlegislativeframeworks.AnalysisbyILO70suggestspolicychoicesandaccompanyinginvestmentsintwoareasinparticularhavemadesignificantcontributionstothedeclineinchildlabouroverthepast12years.Thefirstsuchpolicymovehasbeeninthefieldofeducation,whichhasbeenpropelledbytheglobalEducationForAll(EFA)movement,whichhasmobilisedmajornewinvestmentsintoimprovingschoolaccessandquality,.Thisinturnhasprovidedmorefamilieswiththeopportunitytosendtheirchildrentoschoolratherthantotheworkplaceandhasmadeitworthwhileforthemtodoso.Thereisinfactaclosecorrelationbetweenthedeclineinchildlaboursince2000andthemajorincreaseinschoolattendancesincethattime.Still,asdiscussedinthisreport,breakingthelinkbetweenchildlabourandeducationaldisadvantageremainsa majorchallenge.

Thesecondpolicyareatohavemadeadecisivecontributiontoreducingchildlabourissocialprotection.Whilstextendingaccesstosocialsecurityremainsapressingchallengeglobally,thereisevidencefromanumberofcountriestoindicatethatinvestmentsinsocialsecurityareassociatedwithlowerlevelsofchildlabour.71Socialsecurityandsocialprotectionmechanismshavebeenprovenessentialtomitigatingthesocialandeconomicvulnerabilitiesthatcanleadfamiliestoresorttochildlabour.

Inadditiontothesetwoareas,andgiventheclosecorrelationbetweenhouseholdpovertyandchildlabour,globaleffortstoachievetheMillenniumDevelopmentGoals(MDGs),andinparticularGoal1oneradicatingextremepovertyandhunger,arealsoverylikelytohavehadanimpactintermsofdecreasingchildlabour.Forinstance,accordingtotheMDGreport,72thenumberofpeoplelivinginextremepovertygloballyhasdeclinedbymorethanhalf,fallingfrom1.9billionin1990to836millionin2015.Mostprogresshasoccurredsince2000.

Thesemajorgloballevelpolicyareasandconcertedeffortstoimprovethesituationofpoorandvulnerablehouseholds,andenablechildren’srightstoeducation,havebeensupportedbytheglobalcommunity.ThisincludestheBritishGovernment,whichhasdedicatedODAresourcesandinternationaldevelopmentprogrammingtopovertyreduction,EFAandsocialprotection.

Yetimportantoutstandingissuesrequireglobalandnationalattention.Thepaceatwhichchildlabourhasreducedandthefactthatchildlabourisstillpervasiveamongstmarginalisedandvulnerablegroups,underscoresthefactthatprogressisfailingtoreachallhouseholdsandallchildren.In2006,theILOsetatargettoeliminatetheworstformsofchildlabourby2016.Thistargethasnotbeenmet.

70 ILO,2013b71 ILO,2013a72 UN,2015


Figure 7: number of children in child labour and hazardous work, actual 2000–12 and levels for 2016–20 assuming the pace of progress during 2008–12

Source:ILO(2013b).

Figure7showsthedeclineinchildlabourandhazardousworkthatwilloccurduringthe2012–20periodifthepaceofprogressduring2008–12ismaintained.Thisshowsthat,atthecurrentpace,theinternationalcommunitycanbeexpectedtofallsubstantiallyshortofits2016target.Infact,evenreachingitsgoalfouryearslater,in2020,wouldrequireanincreaseintheannualrateofreductionfromthecurrent6.5percentto24percent.ILOanalysis73pointsoutthat‘businessasusual’isnotenoughtoachievetherequiredprogresstoendthescourgeofchildlabourintheforeseeablefuture.Achievingthisgoalrequiresasubstantialaccelerationofeffortsatalllevels.

6.1 ProgrammaticeffortstoreducechildlabourAlthoughcloselycorrelatedwithpoverty,asdiscussedabove,childlabourisalsotheresultofacombinationoffactorsthatstraddlediversespheres.Theseincludehouseholdsocialandeconomicvulnerability,limitedaccessibilityofeducation,socialnormsthatacceptchildlabourpractices,lowlevelsofparentaleducationandawarenessofthelife-longdamagescausedbychildlabour,amongstothers.Assuch,theroadmapforachievingtheeliminationoftheworstformsofchildlabourby2016,adoptedatTheHagueGlobalChildLabourConferenceof2010,indicatesthatanationalpolicyresponsetochildlabourneedstobecross-sectoralandcomprehensiveinaddressingthedifferentreasonsthatchildrenengageinlabourinanintegratedfashion.

Giventhatmuchoftheprogresstoeliminatechildlabourhasbeenachievedthroughmacro-levelresponsestoreducepoverty,improveaccesstoeducationandincreasesocialsecuritycoverage,thechangeinpacenowrequiredtoaccelerateprogressineliminatinghazardousworkandchildlabournecessitatestargetedactions.Suchactionsmustbecapableofachievingtransformativechangeinthesituationofchildlabourers,theirhouseholdsandthecommunitiestheylivein,tocomplementthepositiveeffectsofmacro-levelchanges.Actionsmorespecificallyaimedateliminatingchildlabourcanrangefrommulti-sectoralapproaches(includingprovisionofdirecteducationalandlivelihoodservices,strengtheningcapacityoflocalandnationalinstitutions,policyadvocacy,awareness-raisingandestablishingpartnershipswithgovernment)74tosocialprotectionpoliciessuchascashtransfers,thatcanbetargetedtoimprovethesituationofchildreninparticularandtoaddresstheirmultiplevulnerabilities.75

73 ILO,2013b74WorldVision,n.d.75UNICEF,2015


Belowweprovideafewrelevantexamplesofinterventionsinthewidercontextthathavesuccessfullycontributedtoreducingoreliminatingchildlabour.Theyshowthat–inadditiontocontinuingtosupportglobalactionstoeliminatehouseholdpoverty,promoteeducationforallandguaranteeaminimumsocialprotectionfloortominimiseeconomicvulnerabilities–itispossibletoaugmentprogressinthisendeavour.Thiscanbesecuredbysupportingtargetedactionstochangethesituationofthosechildlabourerswhohavenotyetbeenreachedbymacro-levelactionsandwhoconstitutethose‘leftbehind’.Whereavailable,theseexamplesofsuccessfulstrategiesdrawonevaluationdatatoillustratetheirimpact,aswellasinformationaboutprogrammecosts,whichisusefulforinformingthedesignofsuccessfulprogrammesinthefuture.Implementingtheseprogrammesrequirespartnershipsbetweendonors,governmentsandimplementingagencies,includingNGOs.Inthisway,resourcescanbemadeavailabletosupportthedesignandimplementationofeffectiveactions,whichcanbecomemoresustainableovertimethroughtheengagementofnationalandlocalgovernments.

TheselectionofexamplesdiscusseshowchangewasachievedandincludesprogrammesimplementedbyWorldVisionandILO–IPEC,aswellastheevaluationresultsofcashtransferprogrammestargetingchildren.Importantly,thevoicesofsomeofthechildrenbenefittingfromtheseinterventionsareconveyedtoprovideafirst-handaccountofhowmuchthesupporttogetthemoutoflabourandintoeducationhastransformedtheirlivesandtheirperspectivesonthefuture.Thesevoicesareencouragingandillustrativeoftheimportanceofcontinuingtosupportconcreteactionsinfavourofchildlabourers.

6.2 EthiopiansFightingAgainstChildExploitation(E-FACE):2011–2015.Thisfour-yearprojectimplementedbyWorldVisiontargeted20,000childrenand7,000householdsinEthiopiainthetraditionalweavingsectorandruralareas.Theprojectincludededucationandlivelihoodinterventions,aswellasanadvocacycomponentforstrengtheninglegislationandsocialprotectionforpoorfamilies.Accordingtothefinalevaluation,itaccomplishedthefollowingachievementsinaddressingthemainobstaclestoeliminatingchildlabourinEthiopia:

• Theproject’smainsuccesswasthechangeofbehaviouralchangeregardingchildlabourandeducation,thatittriggeredamongrelevantlocalgovernmentagencies,communitiesandhouseholds.

• Itincreasedthelevelofuptakeofandperformanceineducation.

• Itachievedresultsintheareaoftechnicalvocationaleducationandskillstraining(TVET)

• Itmadeimportantprogressoneconomicempowermentofhouseholdsandimprovedworkingconditionsforolderchildrenandadults.


AboyfromthePhilippines.Heandhisfamilyhavereceivedassistancetotransitionawayfromhishazardousworkinthesugarcaneplantationsandbackintofull-timeeducation.Heplanstobecomeateacher.


tareKegn’s liFe change as a result oF e-Face

Tarekegn,13,livesinEthiopia.Hewasbornintoaneconomicallypoorfamilyandsohewasnotabletoattendschoollikeotherchildrenhisage.Hisparentshadjustenoughincometofeedthechildren,butnotenoughtopayforschooluniformsorsupplies.Asaresult,Tarekegnhadtoworklonghoursafterschooltoearnmoneytocoverschool-relatedcostsandhelphisfamily.

Afterattendingclassesinthemorning,Tarekegnhadtowalk40minutesintheafternooninsearchofdailylabour.‘ThetypeofworkIfoundwascarryinggoodsfrommarkettopeople’shomes.Imaginehowtiresomeitistocarryheavygoodswithouteatinglunch.Itwasverytoughandmakesyoulosethesenseoflife,’herecollectedmiserably.

Tarekegnlovesschool.Hehasadreamtobeapilot.However,becausehehadnotimetostudyordohishomework,hisschoolperformancedeclined.‘Ihavealwayslovedschool.Buttime,moneyandopportunitieswerenotbymysidetoallowmetostudyproperlyanddomyhomework.Hence,myschoolperformancewasconstantlydeteriorating,’Tarekegnexplained.‘Iwishmysonhadgonetoschoolwithoutchallenges,butthelack ofresourcesandpoorawarenessaboutchildlabourwerenotallowingmetothinkclearly,’recalledMeleko, Tarekegn’sfather.

WorldVision,throughE-FACE,providedschoolsuppliesanduniformsforTarekegn–andotherchildreninsimilarcircumstancesinhiscommunity.Thisenabledhimtoquithisdailylabourandattendschoolproperly.Thesameprojectprovidedhisparentswithparentingeducationandsensitisedthemabouttherisksofengagingchildlabour.

Havingexplainedthechangesresultingfromthisintervention,Tarekegnsays,‘Parentingeducationandcommunityconversationshavedeeplytouchedmyparents’heart.Doyouknowwhatmyfathersaidattheendofthetraining?“Ihurtyouunknowinglymyson.Iwillneverexposeyoutochildlabourhereafter.Iwillpayeverypricetofreeyoufromchildlabour.”’

Tarekegn’sfamilywasalsoeconomicallystrengthenedthroughtheproject.Theywereprovidedwithimprovedpotatoseedsthatyieldedbetterproduction.Encouragedbythepotatoproduction,hisfatherhasbeguntakingplotsoflandoncontractedbasesfromothersandproducingsufficientharvesttofeedhisfamilyallyearround.Tarekegn’sfathernotes,‘Theprojectnotonlychangedmyattitudeonchildlabour,butitchangedmylivelihoodforgood.NowIamabletofeedmyfamilythreetimesaday.Idonotallowmychildrentoworkasbefore.Iwilldoeverythingpossiblenotonlytoexposemychildrentochildlabourbutalsototeachotherpeoplenottoexposetheirchildrentochildlabour.’

Tarekegnisnowaveryhappychildandhisschoolperformancehasgreatlyimproved.‘Iamnowattendingschoolwithoutanyworry.Before,Istood22orsofrommyclass,butnowIstandsecondandwasawardedadictionary’,hehappilyexplained.

6.3 MeerutChildLabourProject:2013–ongoingIn2013,WorldVisionIndiabegantheMeerutChildLabourProject.Theprogrammefacilitatedtheoperationofchildcarecentresthatidentifiedandengagedwithchildrenwhowerenotinschool.Afterayear,oncethechildisready,heorsheisenrolledinschool,withsupportfromWorldVisionIndia.Afterthis,WorldVisionIndia’schildtuitioncentresserveasauxiliarysupporttochildrenwhogotoschool.

Currently,around5,648children(3,000boysand2,648girls)areengagedinchildlabourinMeerut,involvedinvariousformsofhandlabour.TheMeerutChildLabourProjectfocusesonprimaryeducation,onthebasisthatanearlierinterventionhasdeeperimpactonthechild’slife.

Inaddition,theprojectworkswithfamiliesandlookstobuildafamily’scapabilitysothatthechilddoesnothavetowork.Theprojectcounselsthefamilyandexplainstheimpactofchildlabouronchildren’slivesandlivelihoodsaswellasprovidinglivelihoodsupporttofamilies.Theprojecthasfacilitatedtheformationofself-helpgroupsintheareaandprovidedfamilieswithchildlabourerswithsupportsothatlowparentalincomedoesnotbecomeanobstacletoeducationforchildren.


how the meerut child labour project changed mohsin’s liFe

Mohsin’sdaybeginsat6aminasmallanddilapidatedtwo-roomhome.Aftercompletinghischoresinthemorning,hewalkstoschoolataround7amintheslumsofMeerut,UttarPradesh.Mohsincomesfromafamilyof11.Hehasfivebrothersandthreesisters.

MohsinstudiesinClass2.Oneofhisprizedpossessionsishisschoolbag,aresidenceforhisfavouritecompanions.‘Ilovemyschoolbooks.Ienjoyschool.IlikestudyingEnglishthemost,IenjoyMathandHinditoo,’hesaid.‘Iamveryfine,’headded,showingofftheEnglishhehaslearnt.

Mohsinheadshomefromschoolby12pmandafterhislunchheadstotheMadrasa.Ataround4pm,hegoestothechildtuitioncentresetupbyWorldVisionIndia,wherechildrenlearntocopeupwiththeirregularstudies.Afterhistimeatthecentre,Mohsinplayscricketwithhisfriends.

LifechangedforMohsinin2013.Priortothat,Mohsinwasachildlabourer;heusedtoworkatabookbindingunitnearhishouse.

‘Mytwoolderbrothers,Wasir(17)andNadeem(19)usedtoworkatthebookbindingunit.Ididnothing,sotheytookmetohelpthemastheyhadbulkorders.Iwouldgotoworkat9amandcomebackhomeonlyat7pm.IwouldbesotiredthatI’djustsleep.ThewholedayI’dcarrypilesofbooks;myhandswouldhurtterribly.Ididnotlikemylifeatall.Ididn’tevenhavetimetoplay.IwassurroundedbybooksbutIdidn’tknowwhatwasinthem.Iwasalwayscurioustoknowwhattheycontained.AllIthoughtaboutwashowitwouldbeifIcouldstudythesebooksIcarriedtirelesslyallday.’

Mohsin’sfatherwassickanddidnotwork;hismotherearnedalivingforherfamilythroughoddjobs.Theincomeearnedwasextremelymeagretosupportthelargenumberoffamilymembers.WorkseemedliketheonlyoptionforMohsin.

‘Mohsinwouldearn20rupeesaweekandthatwouldsufficeforhisneeds.Forme,itwaslikehewasbeingtakencareof.OnlyafterWorldVisionspoketomedidIrealisethathislifecouldbebetterthrougheducation,’saysMohsin’smother,adjustingtheendsofherpurplesari.‘Now,evenifthereisnomoneyinthehouse,IwillstillsendMohsintoschool.Iwillneverstophiseducation,’shesaysfirmly.‘Mohsinsmilesmoreoftennow,heishappier,Iwantagoodlifeformychild,’sheadds.

Mohsinhasindeedseenatransformationalchangeinhislifesincehequitwork.Hefeelshealthierandhappierandhehasmoretimetospendwithhisfriends–moretimetojustbethechildheis.

‘WhenIgrowup,Iwanttobeapoliceofficer!’Mohsinsaid §withhiseyessparkling.‘Iwanttorunfastandcatchallthethieves.But,Iwanttofinishstudyingfirst.Withoutgoingtoschool,Iwillnotbecomeagoodpoliceofficer.’

6.4 Kenya:Measuringlonger-termimpactonchildrenandfamiliesofinterventionsagainstchildlabour

TheTimeBoundProject(TBP)ofSupporttotheNationalPlanofActiononEliminationofWorstFormsofChildLabourwaslaunchedin2005.Thethrustofthefour-yearprojectwastoassisttheKenyangovernmentinitsendeavourstoputinplacetimeboundmeasurestoeliminatetheworstformsofchildlabourby2015.Theprojectadoptedaholisticapproachinitsinterventions,targetingboththepolicyandpracticalaspectsofchildlabour.Attheupstreamlevel,itworkedwithgovernmentministriestodevelopand/orreviewpolicies,laws,andprocessesthatsupportthefightagainstchildlabour.Atthedownstreamlevel,itworkedwithimplementingagencies(bothstateandnon-state)todeliverdirectsupportforprevention,withdrawalandrehabilitationofchildrenengagedintheworstformsofchildlabour.

Atracerstudywasconductedtoexaminetheeffectsofthisprojectbetween2005and2009.Thedirectbeneficiariesoftheprojectwereboysandgirlsengagedintheworstformsofchildlabour,includingindomesticservices,commercialsex,commercialandsubsistenceagriculture,pastoralismandstreetworkininformalsectors.Atotalof20,000children(10,400boysand9,600girls)weretargetedforwithdrawalandpreventionfromexploitativeand/orhazardousworkthroughtheprovisionofeducationalandnon-educationalservices.


Thetracerstudyfoundthatthenumberofbeneficiariesengagedinchildlabourreducedduringthedurationoftheprojectbutgraduallybegantorisewhenitended.Therewerenoticeablepositivechangesinthetypeandconditionofworkduringandaftertheproject.Changesinthenumberofbeneficiarieswhoenteredandstayedinschoolswerenotsignificant,unlikeforenrolmentintonon-formalandvocationalskillstraininginstitutions,wherechangesweredramatic.Therewasasharpincreaseinenrolmentandattendancetovocationalandnon-formaltraininginstitutionsduringtheprojectperiodbutithaddeclinedonceagainbythecurrentperiod.Forallsituationsandareas,thesupportprovidedbytheprojectwasdeemedimportantforkeepingthebeneficiariesinschoolsandtraininginstitutions.WhilethismaynotbefullyattributedtotheTBP,theviewsexpressedbystakeholderswerethattheprojectactedasacriticaltriggerformanyofthechildrenwhowouldnothavegonetoschoolowingtolackoftheinitialuniformandschoolsupplies.Theprojectalsoimprovedgenerallevelsofretention.Whilechildrenwereassistedonlyforoneyearorso,thereweretestimoniestotheeffectthatthisinitialsupportgavefamiliesacriticalpushthatenabledthemtokeeptheirchildinschoolthereafter.Resultsfromtheanalysisofevaluationdatadidnotrevealsignificantchangeinthestructureandcompositionofthehouseholdeconomy.Thestudyreportedveryhighlevelsofawarenessandattitudechangetowardschildlabourattheindividual,familyandcommunitylevels.76

6.5 SocialprotectionandcashtransferprogrammesTheimpactofsocialprotectionprogrammes,andcashtransfersinparticular,hasbeenexploredwithrespecttochildlabourinanumberofstudies.SomeofthisevidenceconsolidatedrecentlyinILO’s2013WorldReportonChildLabour,whichfocusedonthisrelationship.77DeHoopandRosati78alsoexplorethewaysinwhichcashtransferprogrammesaffectchildlabouroutcomesandconcludethat,althoughthereisconsiderablevariationacrossprogrammes,conditionalcashtransferprogrammesdotendtoreducechildlabour.Theresultssuggestthattheeffectofanyhouseholdinvestmentinproductiveassetsandactivitiesgeneratedbyacashtransfer–andandcapableofdrawingchildrenintowork–areoffsetbyincomegeneratedbytheirparents.Thisultimatelykeepschildreninschoolandoutofwork.79Thesefindingsareimportantgiventheextenttowhichcashtransferprogrammeshavebeenimplementedinlow-andmiddle-incomecountriesglobally–includingwithDFIDsupport.Assuch,understandinghowtheycanreducechildlabourandthenincorporatingthesemechanismsintoexistingcashtransferprogrammescanbekeyincontributingtowardsitselimination.

6.6 Mexico’sProgresa/Oportunidades/ProsperaMexico’sflagshipconditionalcashtransferprogramme,Prospera(initiallyknownunderthename‘Progresa’andlater‘Oportunidades’),isamongthemostextensivelyevaluatedsocialprotectionschemesintheworld.Itwasattheforefrontofthediffusionofconditionalcashtransferschemes.ProsperaprovidespoorMexicanhouseholdswithmonthlycashtransfersequivalenttoapproximately20percentofaveragerecipienthouseholdincome,ontheconditionthatchildreninthehouseholdattendschoolandallhouseholdmembersobtainpreventivemedicalcareandattendhealtheducationtalks.Theprogramme’scoverageisextensive:by2010,ithadreachedapproximately5.5millionhouseholds(morethan20percentofallhouseholdsinMexico)livinginnearly100,000marginalisedlocalities(14percentofwhichwerelocatedinurbanandsemi-urbanareas).

Evaluationsoftheprogrammesuggestitsimpactonchildlabourvariesconsiderably,accordingtoachild’sage,sexandplaceofresidence.Oneofthestudiesexaminedtheshort-runimpactofOportunidadesonchildren’sworkinruralareas.80Here,theauthorsfoundthattheprogrammesignificantlyreducedchildlabouramong12to17-year-oldboysandgirlsbutnotamongyoungerboysandgirls.AstudybySchultz81foundonlyalimitedeffectofOportunidadesonchildlabouramongruralprimaryschoolpupils,butamarkedlystrongereffectamongruralsecondaryschoolpupils.ThisstudyalsoshowedthatOportunidadessubstantiallyincreasedtransitionintosecondaryschoolinruralareas,potentiallyexplainingwhythereductioninchildlabourwasmoremarkedamongolderchildren.Alaterstudy82,examiningthelong-termimpactofOportunidadesinruralareas,foundthat15to16-year-oldboyswhowereexposedtotheprogrammefor5.5yearswere14percentagepointslesslikelytoworkthanboyswhowereneverexposedtotheprogramme.

76 IPEC,201277 ILO,2013a78DeHoopandRosati,201479DeHoopandRosati,201480SkoufiasandParker,200181Schultz,200482Behrmanetal.,2011


Withrespecttocashtransferprogrammes,thesetwoexampleshighlightthattheprogramme’sdesign(e.g.theconditionality)andcontextualfactors(suchaslocationandageofchildren)haveanimportanteffectonhowcashtransferscanaffectthelikelihoodofchildrenstayinginschooland/ordisengagingfromchildlabour.However,thereisstrongevidencetosuggesttheycanbeausefulpolicymeasuretotacklethisimportantproblem.

Thisfinalsectionofthereportshowshowcrucialitistoincreasepolicyandinvestmentcommitmentstomultifacetedglobalandnationaleffortsthatcancometogethertoeliminatechildlabour,workingatdifferentlevels:fromthemacro-policylevel,(fuelledbyglobaleffortstoreducepoverty,promoteeducationforallchildrenandincreasesocialprotectioncoverageforvulnerablehouseholds)tothelocallevel,inwhichtargetedprogrammesaddressthevariedcontextualfactorsthataffectchildrenandtheirfamilies,toenablechildrentoendtheirparticipationinchildlabour–includingitsworstforms.Inthisway,childrencanhavetheirrightsmetandachieveapositivetrajectoryofhumandevelopmentthatwillbenefittheminthepresentandfuture,contributingtohousehold,andcommunitywell-being,aswellastoeconomicgrowththroughthepathwaysexploredinSection5.


19-year-oldVinodfromIndiaisastatelevelgoldmedalistinathletics.Originallyengagedinchildlabour,aninterventionbyaWorldVisionprogrammeallowedhimtocompletehisformalschoolingandpursuehisambitionsasanathlete.


7.ConclusionsThisreporthasprovidedevidenceonhoweliminatingchildlabourcancontributetoeconomicgrowththroughvariouspathways.Themostsignificantoneisbyenablingbettereducationaloutcomes–fromgreaterschoolattendance,tohigherlevelsofcompletionandbetterperformance,allofwhichleadtohigherlevelsofhumancapitaldevelopment.Higherhumancapitaltranslatesintohigherindividualandhouseholdincomeinthemediumrun.Thisisbecauseitincreasesprobabilitiesofaccessingmoresecure,better-paidjobs.Thisisparticularlyimportantforyoungpeople,manyofwhomareunabletofinddecentworkopportunitiesbecauseoftheirlowlevelofeducationandskills.Aggregateeconomicgrowthwouldthereforeresultfromaneducated,better-skilledpopulationwithmoreandbetterjobs.

Eliminatingchildlabourwouldalsobeinstrumentalinachievinggreatergenderequality.Girlsoftenworkininvisibleformsofchildlaboursuchassexualexploitation,orexploitativeworkthatcanbedisguisedasdomesticlabourattheirortheirhusband’shome.Thishurtstheirdevelopment,includingbypreventingthemfromaccessingeducation.Eliminatingsuchworkthereforecontributestoachievinggenderequality.

Effortstoreduceoreliminatechildlabourcanalsogeneratepositiveupwardpressureonadultwages,includingthoseforyoungpeople,asthesupplyofcheaplabourfromchildrendiminishes.Holisticinitiativestoeliminatechildlabourwouldalsotriggergreatereducationandskillsdevelopment,whichinturnwouldresultinyoungpeoplebeingbetterpreparedtotakeon,anddemandgoodworkopportunities.


Joel,22,fromPeru,isaformerchildlabourer.JoelenteredWorldVision’ssponsorshipprogrammeandhewasencouragedtopursuehisambitionsinart.Todayheisregisteredatafineartsschoolandisdedicatedtohelpingchildrenwithsimilarbackgrounds.


Thereareadditionalpositiveoutcomesresultingfromtheeliminationofchildlabourthathaveindirecteffectsoneconomicgrowth.Theseincludethepromotionofsocialcohesion,withchildrenandlaterwithyoungpeople,throughtheirparticipationinmoreequitablesocieties.Also,giventheassociationbetweenhazardousformsofworkandviolenceagainstchildren,thelatterwouldreduce,whichwouldentailgreaterfulfilmentofchildren’srights,aswellasreducingcoststotheeconomyasaresultofbetterphysicalandmentalhealthoutcomesforchildrenandyoungpeople.

TheseimportanteconomicgainstriggeredbytheeliminationofchildlabourarecloselyalignedwithmanyofDFID’sODAstrategicobjectives,asdemonstratedbytheanalysispresentedinthisreport.Theseinclude:

• Promotingprosperitythat‘leavesnoonebehind’:Withoutpurposefulactiononchildlabour,millionsofchildrenwillcontinuetobeleftbehind.Thisiscloselycorrelatedwiththecommitmenttogiveeveryoneafairopportunityinlife–childlabourersstartoffwithadversitystackedagainstthem,andtheyhavetherighttoafairopportunity.

• TheUK’sroleaskeypromoteroftheSDGs,anditscommitmenttoensuringtheyareachieved.Severalgoalsandtargetscannotbeachievedaslongaschildlabourexists.Thisincludesinparticularthegoaltotackleextremepovertyandhelpingtheworld’smostvulnerable–amongwhomchildlabourersarefound.

• Itscommitmenttosupportingqualityeducationforallchildrenthroughouttheworld,whichiscutshortbythenumberofchildrenwhodropoutofschoolorperformpoorlyinschoolasaresultofchildlabour.

• TheUK’scommitmenttopromotingdecentworkandsupportingyoungpeopletobecomeequippedwiththenecessaryskillstoaccessopportunitiesasadults.Evidencepresentedshowshowtheseaimsarecutshortforyoungpeoplewhoworkedaschildrenandwereunabletodevelopthenecessaryeducation,skills,networksoraspirationstoaccessdecentworkastheytransitionintoadulthood.

• Ultimately,theUK’sODAagenda,whichseekstopushforinclusivegrowth.Thisisnotpossiblewhenthereare168millionchildrenglobally–almost11percentofthechildpopulation–whoareeffectivelyexcludedfromeconomicopportunitiestodayandinthefutureastheyreachadulthood.

Thepast20yearshaveseenimportantprogressinthereductionofchildlabour,includingwithasignificantreductioninthenumberofchildreninvolvedinhazardouswork.Thishasbeentheresultofbothmultipleactionsbydifferentactorstargetingchildlabourandrelevantmacro-levelpolicychangesthathaveresultedinpositivedevelopmentprogressglobally.

Macro-levelpoliciesthathavehadanimportantpositiveeffectonchildlabourincludethosegearedtowardspovertyreductionandfosteringdevelopment,whichcanbelinkedtotheglobalpushtoachievetheMDGsbetween2000and2015.GlobaleffortssuchastheEFAInitiative,whichhashadsignificantsuccessingettingchildrentoschool,aswellastheadoptionofsocialprotectionprogrammessuchascashtransfers–particularlythoseprogrammesthathavehadastrongfocusonchildren–asameanstoreducepovertyandvulnerabilityinmanylessdevelopedanddevelopingcountrieshavealsomadeimportantinroadstoreducingchildlabour.

Still,targetedactionstoeliminatechildlabourhavebeeninstrumentalinthisbattle.Theseincludethepoliticalcommitmentofgovernmentstoreducechildlabourandcorrespondinglegalchanges,spearheadedbythenumberofratificationsofILOConvention182ontheWorstFormsofChildLabourandILOConvention138ontheMinimumAgeforAdmissiontoEmployment–thetwoprincipallegalpillarsfortheglobalfightagainstchildlabour.83Multipleagencies,suchasILO–IPECandtheUNChildren’sFund(UNICEF),aswellasinternationalandnationalNGOslikeWorldVisionandSavetheChildren,amongothers,havealsocontributedtopromotethisprogressglobally.Thisincludesthroughthesupportofprojectsatcommunitylevel–suchasthosepresentedintheexamplesinSection6.Thesehaveprovidedmodelsofgoodpracticeforremovingchildrenfromchildlabourbyequippingthemwitheducationandskills,supportingalternativelivelihoodsforthefamilyandworkingtochangefamilyandcommunityperceptionsaboutchildlabour.

Assuch,deliberateeffortstoincreaseinvestmentsandactionstosupportgovernmentsandagenciesworkingtoeliminatechildlabourgloballyarecriticaltoachievingthesestrategicobjectives.Childlabouristheresultofmultipleoverlappingdrivers,thereforepoliciesandprogrammestoeffectivelyeliminateitneedtobeholisticandmulti-layeredtorespondtotheproblem’smultiplefacets.Theyneedtobebothtargetedandmuchmorecomprehensiveinscaleandscopethantheyhavebeentodate,focusinginparticularonthemostvulnerablechildren,whohavenotbeenreachedbyrecentprogressinreducingchildlabour.

83 ILO,2013b


recommendationsBasedonthelessonslearnedfromglobalactionstoeliminatechildlabour,includingthroughinterventionssuchasthosehighlightedintheexamplesoutlinedinSection6,someofthefollowingfactorsarenecessaryineffectivepolicyandprogrammingagainstchildlabour,particularlyinsecuringsustainablechangewhichdoesnothappenovernight:

• Donors–includingDFID–shouldsupportthedevelopmentofspecificsocialpoliciesaimedatreducingchildlabour,includinguniversalsocialprotectioncoverageorcashtransferstopoorfamiliestohelpthemcountertheopportunitycostofchildlabour.DFIDhassupportedsocialprotectionprogrammesinmanyofthecountriesitworkswith,soitcancontinuedoingsowhileensuringithastailoredprovisionslinkedtochildlabour.

• NGOsandUNagenciesworkingtoeliminatechildlabour,eitherbyimplementingprogrammesdirectlyorbyadvisingnationalgovernmentstodoso,mustunderstandthecontextinwhichchildlabourtakesplace,sotheycanworkonthedrivers.Theseoftenincludesocialandculturalfactors,inadditiontothelackoflivelihoodoptions.Programmesdesignedtoincludelivelihoodsupportcomponentsforchildren’sfamiliesmustbegroundedintheneedsandopportunitiesofthecontext.

• Successfulinterventionsarethosedesignedusingaholisticapproachthatunderstandsthemultiplefactorsthatresultinchildrenbeingengagedinlabour.Thus,agencieschannellingresourcestosupportinterventionstoreducechildlabourmustexaminewhetherthoseinterventionshaveaholisticprogrammedesign.Theyneedtoprovidealternativestoaddresstheincomeconstraintsinthehouseholdthatleadtochildrenworking,thelackofaffordableandqualityeducation,andthedearthofunderstandingbyparentsorcaregiversabouttheconsequencesofchildlabour,amongotherfactorsthatplayarole.Tacklingtheissueonmultiplesidesismostlikelytoresultinsuccess.

• Despitetheenormousamountofinvestmentineducationandactorsworkingoneducation,thereisstillmuchworktodotoensurethatfreeeducationisaccessibleforall,includingwithnationalandlocalauthoritiestoguaranteeadequatebudgetallocations.Evenwhereschoolsareavailable,itisessentialtoimprovechildren’saccesstothemandtomakeschool-relatedcostsaffordablesochildlabourersseeschoolingasafeasibleoption.Thiscanbedonethroughcashorin-kindsupportstochildrenortheirfamilies,andbysupportingschoolssotheyareinrealityfreeoffeesandothercosts(suchasparent–teacherassociationoruniformfees).

• Itisnecessarytosupporttheimplementationofafter-schoolsupportsothatchildrenwhohavedroppedoutasaresultofchildlabourcancatchupandperformwell,generatingmoreincentivesforthemtostayinschool.

• Itisalsoimportanttofundandorganisesensitisationcampaignsandtrainingsessionswithparentsandrelevantcommunityleaderstoprovideinformationabouttherisksandconsequencesofchildlabour,discouragingparentsfromusingitasanegativecopingstrategy.

• Itisequallyessentialtoprovidelivelihoodsupportoptions,suchasproductiveassetsoraccesstomicrofinance,orsocialprotectioncoveragetofamiliesinsituationsofpoverty,toreduceincentivestokeepchildrenoutofschoolandinchildlabour.

• Thereisaneedtogenerateevidence-basedadvocacyplatformstoinformpoliciesandlegislationthatpromotesinstitutionalchangesagainstchildlabour.

Interventionshavebeenmostsuccessfulwhentheyincludeseveralofthesecomponents,andassucharemostlikelytomakelonger-lastingchangesinthelivesofchildrentodayandintothefuture.Whatisclearisthattheveryprocessofeducatingchildrenandtakingthemoutofthelabourforcenotonlyreduceschildlabourintheshortrunbutalsohelpsgenerateaneconomythatisstrongerandmoreequitable,sothatitalsoreduceschildlabour.Thisisadoublewin.Inthissense,programmesandpoliciestotacklechildlabourhaveaplacewithinawiderprocessofchange.

Assuch,donorssuchasDFIDmustsupportwell-developed,evidence-informedinterventionstoeliminatechildlabour.WhilethisisnotcurrentlydirectlyapriorityareainDFID’sagenda,itshouldbe,asitisinstrumentaltoachievingmanyofitsdevelopmentobjectives,and,importantly,tocontributingeffectivelytothefulfilmentofchildren’srightsandprogressontheSDGs.

World Vision UK Overseas Development Institute 35Amemberofan“innovationclub”inEthiopia,withhishand-crafted,functionalmicroscope.Membersalsoreceiveassistancewithschooluniformsandsuppliesintheirtransitionoutofchildlabour.© 2015 World Vision


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world vision uKWorldVisionHouse,OpalDrive,FoxMilne,MiltonKeynes,MK150ZR

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www.worldvision.org.uk

WorldVisionistheworld’slargestinternationalchildren’scharity. Everydaywebringrealhopetomillionsofchildrenintheworld’shardestplacesasasignofGod’sunconditionallove.

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