Economic Inequality and the Emergence of Child Labor Laws
51 Pages Posted: 9 Nov 2002
Date Written: October 2002
Abstract
This paper constructs a dynamic heterogeneous agent general equilibrium model to quantify the effects of child labor laws on human capital accumulation and the distribution of welfare. We find that the welfare consequences of a policy reform for agents depend crucially on the main source of household income. Households with large asset holdings would never support government intervention. High-wage workers benefit most from a ban on child labor, while low-wage workers benefit most from mandatory education. Utilitarian social welfare increases to a greater extent with mandatory, publicly financed education than with a child labor ban or a combination of both policies.
Keywords: Child Labor Legislation, Wealth Inequality, Transition
JEL Classification: I28, J22, D31, O10
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Population, Technology, and Growth: From the Malthusian Regime to the Demographic Transition
By Oded Galor and David N. Weil
-
By Oded Galor and David N. Weil
-
The Gender Gap, Fertility and Growth
By Oded Galor and David N. Weil
-
The Gender Gap, Fertility, and Growth
By Oded Galor and David N. Weil
-
By Gary D. Hansen and Edward C. Prescott
-
Natural Selection and the Origin of Economic Growth
By Oded Galor and Omer Moav
-
Natural Selection and the Origin of Economic Growth
By Oded Galor and Omer Moav
-
From Stagnation to Growth: Unified Growth Theory
By Oded Galor
-
From Stagnation to Growth: Unified Growth Theory
By Oded Galor
-
From Physical to Human Capital Accumulation: Inequality in the Process of Development
By Oded Galor and Omer Moav