Child Labor: A Review of Recent Theory and Evidence with Policy Implications

Abstract

In recent years, a growing number of authors have turned their atten- tion to the question of why children work. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the more recent theoretical and empirical research into the topic of child labor, and to illustrate the fact that no one factor on its own can account for the phenomenon of child labor. Therefore, policies aimed at eradicating child labor will need to address the broad range of underlying factors that contribute to the incidence of child labor, such as poverty, market imperfections and access to education.