Does International Migration Increase Child Labor?

Abstract

Global international migration may influence child labor through a labor market effect. We empirically investigate this issue by using an original cross-country survey dataset, which combines information on international emigration flows with detailed individual-level data on child labor at age 5-15 in a wide range of developing countries. By using variation in the emigration supply shocks across labor market units defined on the basis of both geography and skill, we estimate a set of child labor equations where the variable of interest is the interactive effect between parental skill and country-level emigration shocks. We measure the latter through different indicators including a direct measure of the relative skill composition of emigrants relative to the resident population in the country of origin. Overall, after controlling for a large set of individual-level characteristics, remittances, and country fixed effects, our findings are consistent with predictions and show that international out-migration may significantly reduce child labor in disadvantaged households through changes in the local labor market.

Keywords: International Migration, Child Labor, Factor Mobility, Crosscountry Survey Data

JEL Classification: F22, F1, J61