Does Globalisation Increase Child Labour?

Abstract

There is no empirical evidence that trade exposure per se increases child labour. As trade theory and household economics lead us to expect, the cross-country evidence seems to indicate that trade reduces or, at worst, has no significant effect on child labour. Consistently with the theory, a comparatively well educated labour force, and active social policies, appear to be conducive to a reduction in child labour. For countries with a largely uneducated workforce, the problem is not so much globalisation, as being allowed to take part in it.

Keywords: Child Labour, Globalisation, Education, Health, Skill Premium, Trade

JEL Classification: D13, F12, I20, J13, J24, O15