Child Labour in Ghana
CHILD LABOR AND SCHOOLING IN GHANA
Sudharshan Canagarajah Harold Coulombe
This paper is one of a series of background papers undertaken as part of a World Bank Economic and Sector Work (ESW) on Ghana: Labor Markets and Poverty. We acknowledge funding from Dutch and Canadian Trust funds. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors, and do not represent the views of the World Bank in any way.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pages Abstract 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Introduction Data Child Labor and Schooling: Tabulation Results The Econometric Model Econometric Results Conclusions and Recommendations 1 2-4 4-6 6-12 12-14 14-28 28-29 30-32 33 34 35-37
REFERENCES Annex 1: Definition of Variables used in Probit Annex 2: Descriptive Statistics of Variables used in Probit Annex 3: Ancillary Estimations
Abstract
This paper analyzes the determinants of child labor in conjunction with decision to school of Ghanaian children between the ages of 7 through 14 using national household surveys conducted between 1987-92. The paper briefly reviews some of the salient literature on child labor, especially those relevant to the phenomena in Africa, and presents tabular and multivariate analysis of the data. Unlike Asia, the majority of child labor in Africa, and especially in Ghana, is unpaid work and takes place in family agricultural enterprises. Of the 28 percent of children involved in child labor more than two-thirds were also simultaneously schooling. Of all the children between 7-14 years around 90 percent were involved in household chores. The paper does not address the issue of street kids which does not imply they are less important. The paper shows there are some clear gender based distinctions in the type of tasks performed by a girl and boy worker; girls do more household chores, while boys are in labor force. Our data does not convincingly show, as most literature claim, that poverty is the main culprit of
Sudharshan Canagarajah Harold Coulombe
This paper is one of a series of background papers undertaken as part of a World Bank Economic and Sector Work (ESW) on Ghana: Labor Markets and Poverty. We acknowledge funding from Dutch and Canadian Trust funds. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors, and do not represent the views of the World Bank in any way.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pages Abstract 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Introduction Data Child Labor and Schooling: Tabulation Results The Econometric Model Econometric Results Conclusions and Recommendations 1 2-4 4-6 6-12 12-14 14-28 28-29 30-32 33 34 35-37
REFERENCES Annex 1: Definition of Variables used in Probit Annex 2: Descriptive Statistics of Variables used in Probit Annex 3: Ancillary Estimations
Abstract
This paper analyzes the determinants of child labor in conjunction with decision to school of Ghanaian children between the ages of 7 through 14 using national household surveys conducted between 1987-92. The paper briefly reviews some of the salient literature on child labor, especially those relevant to the phenomena in Africa, and presents tabular and multivariate analysis of the data. Unlike Asia, the majority of child labor in Africa, and especially in Ghana, is unpaid work and takes place in family agricultural enterprises. Of the 28 percent of children involved in child labor more than two-thirds were also simultaneously schooling. Of all the children between 7-14 years around 90 percent were involved in household chores. The paper does not address the issue of street kids which does not imply they are less important. The paper shows there are some clear gender based distinctions in the type of tasks performed by a girl and boy worker; girls do more household chores, while boys are in labor force. Our data does not convincingly show, as most literature claim, that poverty is the main culprit of