Technology and the Future of Bonded Child Labour in South Asia

Abstract

Child labour has persisted through many decades despite national and international legal frameworks of prohibition world over. In South Asia, this issue has been specially compounded by concerns of poor implementation and the linkage of debt bondage and intergenerational labor. This article examines the traditional systems of bonded child labour prevalent in South Asia and anticipates the manner in which technological applications could aid in anti-child labour policy implementation. The authors suggest that automation, physical mapping and supply chain tracing that technology brings in, has the potential to reduce prevalence of child labour in South Asia.

Keywords: Child labour, Technology, South Asia, Supply chain, GPS-mapping, Automation

JEL Classification: J13, O15, J47