child labor thesis

Child Labor Essay: Thesis, Examples, & Writing Guide [2024]

Children have always been apprentices and servants all over human history. However, the Industrial Revolution increased the use of child labor in the world. It became a global problem that is relevant even today when such employment is illegal.

The principal causes of child labor are as follows:

• Poverty, as kids have to work to support their families.
• Lack of access to education or its low quality.
• Culture, as some countries encourage kids to earn their pocket money.
• The growth of a low-paying informal economy.

The information you will find in this article can help you write a good child labor essay without any problems. Our professional writers gathered facts and tips that can help you with a paper on this topic. Nail your essay writing about child labor: thesis statement, introduction, and conclusion.

• 📜 How to Write
• ❓ Brief History
• ⚖️ Laws Today

🔗 References

📜 child labor argument essay: how to write & example.

Let’s start with tips on writing a child labor essay. Its structure depends on the type of your assignment : argumentative, persuasive, for and against child labor essay.

There’s nothing new in the essay structure: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, you should pay close attention to your thesis statement about child labor as the subject is quite delicate.

Below you’ll find the essential information on what to write in your assignment:

• The introduction may present the general meaning of the term “child labor.” In this part of your child labor essay, you may say that child labor means the work of children that aims at exploiting and harming them.
• The thesis statement should reveal your position on the issue. It’s the central idea of the paper. It may sound like “Not every kind of child labor is supposed to be exploitive.” Think about the phrasing of your child labor thesis statement.
• What are the reasons for the issue today? In this part of your essay, you have to present why child labor is widely-spread nowadays. Are there some positive factors for it?
• What jobs can be done by children? Give a list of possible careers, and present short descriptions of the duties children have to fulfill. Explain your job choice.
• How can we reduce child labor? Elaborate on why taking care of our young generation is crucial. What would you offer to reduce child labor?
• The conclusion of child labor essays should summarize everything that was said in the body. It should present the final idea that you have come up with while conducting your research. Make a point by approving or disapproving your thesis statement about child labor. Don’t repeat the central idea, but rather restate it and develop. If you’re not sure about what to write, you can use a summary machine to help you out.

We hope that now you have some ideas on what to write about. Nevertheless, if you still need some help with writing , you can check the child labor essay example:

For more facts to use in your essay, see the following sections.

❓ Brief History of Child Labor

The involvement of child labor became increasingly popular during the Industrial revolution . The factories ensured the growth in the overall standard of living, a sharp drop in the mortality rate in cities, including children. It caused unprecedented population growth. And with the help of machines, even physically weak people could work.

Operating power-driven machines did not require high qualification, but the child’s small height often was a better option. They could be installed quite closely to save the factory space. Some children worked in coal mines, where adults couldn’t fit.

Thus, child labor has become an indispensable and integral part of the economy.

Even special children’s professions were formed. For example, there were scavengers and scribes in the cotton factories:

• Scavengers had to be small and fast. They crawled all day under the spinning looms, collected the fallen pieces of cotton, inhaled cotton dust, and dodged the working mechanisms.
• Scribes walked around the shop and sorted the threads that ran along with the machine. It was estimated that the child was passing about 24 miles during the working day.

Needless to say, that child labor conditions were far from perfect. The situation began to change in the early 1900s during social reform in the United States. The restricting child labor laws were passed as part of the progressive movement.

During the Great Depression , child labor issues raised again because of lacking open jobs to adults. The National Industrial Recovery Act codes significantly reduced child labor in America.

What about today?

Child labor today in wealthy countries accounts for 1% of the workforce. At the same time, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) , the highest ranges of working children are in Africa (32%), Asia (22%), and Latin America (17%).

🧒 Causes of Child Labor

Speaking about child labor, you should understand the factors that lead to children employment:

• Poverty . According to ILO, it is one of the significant causes of child labor. Children have to work to support their families. Sometimes up to 40% of a household income is the child’s salary.
• Lack of access to education . An absence of school or its distant location and low quality of education affect children around the globe. Unaffordable tuition in local schools drives children to harmful labor.
• Culture . In some developing countries, it is common for children and adolescents to help their parents in a family business. They earn their pocket money because people believe such work allows children to develop skills and build character. Other cultures value girls’ education less than boys, so girls are pushed to provide domestic services.
• The growth of a low-paying informal economy. This macroeconomic factor explains acceptability and demand for child labor.

⚖️ Child Labor Laws Today

Don’t forget to mention current labor laws and regulations in your child labor assignment. You can mention slavery and human trafficking linked to the issue even today. You may refer to international laws or analyze legislative acts in different countries.

For example, the Fair Labor Standards Act determines age restrictions, jobs allowed for teenagers, and necessary paperwork.

Other acts, programs, and initiatives you should mention are:

• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
• Minimum Age Convention
• Medical Examination of Young Persons (Industry) Convention
• Australia’s and UK’s Modern Slavery Acts
• National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020
• International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor
• Child Labor Deterrence Act of 1993

When writing about child laws against child labor, you may also explore the best and worst countries for children’s work conditions.

You may also mention child labor incidents:

• UNICEF’s report on using enslaved children in cocoa production.
• Child labor in Africa’s cobalt, copper, and gold mines.
• GAP, Zara, Primark, H&M’s products made with cotton, which may have been picked by children. You can also find extra information on companies that use child labor.
• Child labor in silk weaving factories.

Child Labor Essay Examples

• Child labor’s negative impact on human development . 
• Child labor and social worker interventions . 
• Child labor in the fashion industry . 
• Child labor, its forms, and disputable issues .  
• Ethics in business: child labor in the chocolate industry.   
• Samsung and child labor: business ethics case . 
• Child labor’s role in westernization and globalization . 

Child Labor Essay Topics

• Analyze the connection between poverty and child labor. 
• Discuss the reasons for the high trafficking of children rates.  
• Explain why child labor is among topical issues in the modern world.  
• What can be done to reduce child trafficking rates?  
• Explore the ways labor unions help to fight child labor.   
• Describe the child labor laws around the world and evaluate their effectiveness.  
• Analyze the cases of child exploitation in sweatshops in developing countries. 
• Discuss the social issues connected with child labor .   
• Examine the impact of child labor on children’s physical and mental health.  
• The role of UNICEF in the abolition of child labor and exploitation.  
• Child trafficking as a primary human rights issue.  
• The absence of adequate punishment is the reason for increased child slavery rates.
•  Analyze if current measures to prevent child exploitation are sufficient enough.  
• Discuss how social media platforms facilitate child trafficking .   
• Examine the social impact of child exploitation and trafficking .  
• Describe how the attitude towards child labor depends on the specifics of the country’s culture.  
• Explore how Zara’s use of child labor influenced its public image.  
• What organizations deal with commercial child exploitation prevention?  
• What can a healthcare professional do to help the victims of child exploitation ?  
• Analyze the urgency of creating an effective program for the recovery of child trafficking victims .  
• Discuss the laws regulating child labor in different countries.  
• Explain the connection between the level of education in the country and child labor rates.  
• The role of parents in the success of child labor and exploitation prevention.  
• Explore the history of child labor.  
• Can labor be the way to teach children about basic life skills?  
• The disastrous effect of child trafficking on the mental health of its victims.  
• Discuss the problems connected with child trafficking and exploitation investigation.
• Examine the cases of using child soldiers in modern armed conflicts.  
• Analyze the role of international organizations in saving child soldiers.  
• The use of abducted children as frontline soldiers in Uganda.  
• What can be done to overcome the issue of child soldiers in the near future?  
• Discuss what fashion brands can do to prevent the use of child labor in overseas sweatshops .
• Explain why young workers are more vulnerable to exploitation compared to adult workers.
•  Explore the issue of child labor and exploitation in the Industrial Age .  
• Analyze how child labor affects the education of children . 
• Describe the business ethics of child labor.  
• Who is responsible for the use of child labor at tea plantations?   
• Examine the reasons for using child labor in mining in the 19 th century . 
• Employing child labor as one of the most widespread violations of children’s rights .
• Discuss the motives that push children to participate in labor.  

How old were you when you got your first job? Was it hard? Share with us your experience and advice in the comments below! Send this page to those who might require help with their child labor essay.

• Child Labor Issues and Challenges: NIH
• Child Labor: World Vision Australia
• Essay Structure: Harvard University
• Child Labor: Human Rights Watch
• Child Labor: Laws & Definition: History.com
• Child Labor: Our World in Data
• History of Child Labor in the United States, Part 1: Little Children Working: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to LinkedIn
• Share to email

Nowadays, knowing several foreign languages is no longer surprising. For example, learning French is common for English-speaking countries. So, getting an assignment on this subject won’t be a surprise for a student.

Dissertation critique writing develops the students’ critical and logical thinking abilities. When composing, the students learn to analyze the works conducted by other researchers. To critique a dissertation, you should: Thoroughly read the paper.Take notes and summarize the text (you can even try and use auto summarizer for that).Interpret and...

An opinion essay is a formal piece of writing which presents the author’s point of view on a particular subject supported by reasoning and examples. The opposing viewpoint is also suggested, but it is followed by arguments that show its inconsistency. Take a look at the guide prepared by Custom-writing experts to...

So, you need to accomplish your discursive essay writing. The typical questions most students ask are: How do you write it? What is discursive essay? A discursive essay is an academic paper that involves a discussion on a particular topic. It is usually assigned to college students. You may be...

How to write a narrative essay? To do that, you need to know what a narrative essay is. It is an academic text usually written as a story and containing all the usual elements of a story. Narrative essays are often personal, experiential, and creative. Still, they should be made...

So, you can’t wait to get into college and join a fraternity, sorority, or student union. Well, we have some incredibly useful tips and helpful information for college admission essay writing! Remember: getting into college takes more than money. And outstanding essays get you great college scholarships!

It’s not hard to see why Americanism is one of the most popular essay topics. The concept of Americanism is in the center of the US identity. Writing an essay about it is an excellent way to find out more about this great country.

An art critique paper involves a comprehensive analysis and assessment of an artwork. Though this looks a bit complicated, the task doesn’t require a lot of time if you have sufficient critique writing skills. It’s an interesting assignment for students of art colleges as well as high schoolers. All you...

An article review is an academic assignment that invites you to study a piece of academic research closely. Then, you should present its summary and critically evaluate it using the knowledge you’ve gained in class and during your independent study. If you get such a task at college or university,...

Short essays answer a specific question on the subject. They usually are anywhere between 250 words and 750 words long. A paper with less than 250 words isn’t considered a finished text, so it doesn’t fall under the category of a short essay. Essays of such format are required for...

When you hear the phrase “spiritual leadership,” you probably think it’s only associated with religion. But did you know that this form of leadership can also be found in business? The book Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda by Henry and Richard Blackaby is a good starting point...

High school and college students often face challenges when crafting a compare-and-contrast essay. A well-written paper of this kind needs to be structured appropriately to earn you good grades. Knowing how to organize your ideas allows you to present your ideas in a coherent and logical manner This article by...

can u give me a Topic Sentence please

this does not help at all

Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your weblog? My website is in the exact same niche as yours, and my visitors would genuinely benefit from some of the Infomation you provide here. Please let me know if this okay with you. Thanks!

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Ind Psychiatry J
• v.27(1); Jan-Jun 2018

Challenges and perspectives of child labor

Amir radfar.

College of Graduate Health Studies, A.T. Still University, Mesa, Arizona, USA

Seyed Ahmad Ahmadi Asgharzadeh

1 Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

Fernando Quesada

2 Department of Medicine, Universidad de El Salvador, San Salvador, El Salvador

Irina Filip

3 Department of Psychiatry, Kaiser Permanente, Fontana, California, USA

Child labor is one of the oldest problems in our society and still an ongoing issue. During the time, child labor evolved from working in agriculture or small handicraft workshops to being forced into work in factories in the urban setting as a result of the industrial revolution. Children were very profitable assets since their pay was very low, were less likely to strike, and were easy to be manipulated. Socioeconomic disparities and lack of access to education are among others contributing to the child labor. Religious and cultural beliefs can be misguiding and concealing in delineating the limits of child labor. Child labor prevents physical, intellectual, and emotional development of children. To date, there is no international agreement to fully enforced child labor. This public health issue demands a multidisciplinary approach from the education of children and their families to development of comprehensive child labor laws and regulations.

INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL FACTS

Child labor is an old problem well rooted in human history. Children were exploited to various extents during different periods of time. The problem was common in poor and developing countries. In the 1800's, child labor was part of economic life and industrial growth. Children less than 14 years old worked in agriculture, factories, mining, and as street vendors.[ 1 ] Children from poor families were expected to participate to the family income, and sometimes they worked in dangerous conditions in 12-hour shifts.[ 1 ]

In the 1900's, in England, more than a quarter of poor families lost their children to diseases and death, endangering their extra financial support.[ 1 ] Boys worked in glass factories in high heat in three shifts because the furnaces were kept fired all the time to increase productivity, while girls were forced into prostitution. In 1910, it was estimated that more than two million children in the United States were working.[ 1 ]

With the increase of education, economy, and the emergence of labor laws, child labor decreased. However, child labor is still a widespread problem in many parts of the world in developed and developing countries. With the development of agriculture, children were again forced to be employed mostly by the families rather than factories. The main cause of child labor is the lack of schools and poverty.[ 2 ]

Per International Labor Organization (ILO, 2002), in the world, there are 211 million children laborers, 73 million under 10 years of age, 126 million children work in the worst forms of child labor, and more than 8 million are kept as slaves for domestic work, in trafficking, armed conflict, prostitution, and pornography. More than 20,000 children die yearly due to work-related accidents. Nearly, one-third of the world's children work in Africa.[ 3 ] Countries such as India have made efforts to tackle the worst forms of child labor. Despite this, 56.4% of children aged 5–14 work in agriculture and 33.1% work in industry.[ 4 ] Indian children are forced into labor to pay family debt. They work sometimes in hazardous environments, being forced into commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking, or forcibly recruited or kidnapped to be part of terrorist groups.[ 4 ]

Child labor is morally and ethically unacceptable. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was the first international body that signed in 1989 the Convention on the Rights of the Children. It is for the first time in history when children are seen as humans with rights rather than economic assets of their parents. Child labor was defined as labor that harms the health of the children and deprives them of education rights. This law does not exclude children that work for their families.

ETHICAL FACETS OF CHILD LABOR

Child labor has many facets from the ethical point of view. Autonomy, beneficence, justice, nonmaleficence, privacy, and veracity are endangered during child labor.[ 5 ] Utilitarianists would support the idea of child labor as long as they are the sole providers for the family and without their income, the family would not survive and as long as the labor is voluntarily provided. The ends justify the means. Forced child labor is unethical because it is against the autonomy of the children. The consent of the working child is mostly manipulated by the parents. To give consent, a child needs to understand the situation, the consequences, and voluntarily agree to work. Children of young age, who have a less than fully competent capacity, can assent to an action by getting involved in the decision-making process. Children fall easy victims to unfair job conditions, and they do not have the power to stand-up against mistreatments.[ 6 ] The maleficence of this act has long-term physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences. Even if they are lacking the competency of making informed decisions, they are considered individuals with autonomy that should be protected and safeguarded.[ 6 ]

Child labor is more common in developing countries where more than 90% of children live.[ 3 ] Child labor in developing countries affects 211 million children.[ 3 ] The continent with the highest child employment rate is Asia with 61%, followed by Africa and Latin America. Nearly 41% of the children in Africa are below 14 years old, followed by Asia with 22% and Latin America 17%.[ 3 ] India has made progress in reducing the child labor. However, more than 4 million children in India between 5 and 14 years old work more than 6 hours a day, while about 2 million children aged 5–14 work 3–6 months in a year.[ 4 ]

CULTURAL BELIEFS AND CHILD LABOR

Cultural beliefs have an important role in encouraging child labor. In developing countries, people believe that work has a constructive effect on character building and increases skill development in children. There is a tradition in these families, where children follow the parents' footsteps and learn the job from an early age. Some cultural beliefs may contribute to the misguided concept that a girl's education is not as important as a boy's education, and therefore, girls are pushed into child labor as providers of domestic services.[ 7 ] In India, not putting a child to work means the family would not make enough income to sustain their living. Sociocultural aspects such as the cast system, discrimination, and cultural biases against girls contribute to child labor.[ 4 ]

RELIGION AND CHILD LABOR

It is generally accepted that parents have the fundamental right to educate and raise their children. Parents almost always try to act in the child's best interest at the best of their knowledge and beliefs. In doing so, they are reasonably motivated by their intellectual growth, social development, and at times by spiritual salvation. Oftentimes, parents seek guidance in religion to shape the upbringing of their children and to enhance their progress. Hard work is among others, an important religious value to instill from a young age.

Krolikowski found that Christian children were the least likely to work, while Muslim children, children with no religion, and children affiliated with a traditional African religion were more likely to work than Christians.[ 8 ] The 40% higher incidence of child labor among Indian Muslims compared with Indian Hindus is due perhaps to the impoverishment of Muslim community.[ 4 ] Amish people's life is also regulated by religious values. They believe that work and faith bring people closer to God.[ 9 ] Amish children are initiated from childhood into apprenticeship to learn the trade, and beyond eighth grade, they have to provide like an adult for the community. Education of children beyond eighth grade is considered a threat to the community values. The U. S. labor laws forbid children less than 16 years of age to work in hazardous places such as sawmill or woodworking. However, in 2004 an exception was made by the United States Department of Labor, who approved an amendment that allows Amish children between 14 and 18 years old to work.[ 10 ]

POLICIES AND CHILD LABOR

Child labor is rooted in poverty, income insecurity, social injustice, lack of public services, and lack of political will.[ 7 ] Working children are deprived from a proper physical and mental development. The millennium development goals (MDGs), issued in 2001 to implement the Millennium Declaration, set up commitments for poverty reduction, education, and women's empowerment. Persistence of poverty is the major cause of labor. However, child labor also causes poverty because it deprives the children from education and from a normal physical and mental development hampering a prosperous life as adults. The first MDG in addressing poverty is the elimination of child labor.[ 11 ]

The International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) was created by ILO in 1992 to progressively eliminate child labor. The priority addresses the worst forms of child labor such as slavery, prostitution, drug trafficking, and recruitment of children in armed conflicts.[ 12 ] IPEC is working with stakeholders from many countries to increase strengths and promote the fight against child labor. IPEC engage with multiple organizations, international and governmental bodies, community-based organizations, religious groups, private plural form businesses, children and their families.

Policy reform was promoted through country-based programs. The capacity building of institutions has been increased to better understand the obstacles and increase the ability of obtaining sustainable measures. These measures were meant to decrease child labor and bring children back in schools. In all these processes, statistical data were collected at the worldwide level, methodologies were set in place, and guidelines were created.

The Child Labor Platform was created as a business-led initiative by ILO in 2012, to identify the obstacles of the implementation of ILO conventions at the community level and to come up with solutions. This platform is a win-win situation for all parties involved: stakeholders as well children and their families. This platform offers training, research, and specialized tools to member companies, so they can carry out activities against child labor. Eliminating child labor is part of the corporates' social responsibility in line with their values and is what the society expects from them. This platform provides information how to get involved and how to find businesses that work collaboratively with the communities to solve the problem. Training and knowledge is a real value added for companies.[ 12 ] The Indian Government implemented a national project deemed to assist population to eradicate child labor, and set in place enforcements of criminal and labor law.[ 4 ]

ARGUMENTS FAVORING CHILD LABOR

Despite all these international and national measures against child labor, there are arguments in favor of child labor. Some argue that poor families would be even poorer without the supplemental financial contribution of children. Lack of money will deprive them of the basic needs of food and shelter which will decrease their survival rate. In addition, an increase in poverty would make children even more susceptible to exploitation.

The supporters of these ideas argue that the benefit of creating a safe workplace and allowing children to work is helpful in certain situations. They also emphasize that child work is not child labor as long as it does not interfere with schooling and children have safe workplace conditions with a limited number of hours per day.[ 13 ]

STAKEHOLDERS’ ROLE AND CHILD LABOR

The stakeholders most directly affected are the children and their families. Children are working at the expense of their education and normal mental development. Education is important not only for the intellectual development but also for the empowerment and acquisition of new skills for adult life. The health of children is endangered by work in hazardous conditions, abuse, exhaustion, malnutrition, or exposure to toxic materials. The psychological harm leads to behavioral problems later on in life.[ 14 ]

Despite the implementation of laws and measurements at the international level, child labor still persists, and it is caused by the same factors as 100 years ago. There is a need to address poverty and access to education. To date, there is no international agreement to define child labor. Every country has different laws and regulations regarding the minimum age for starting working based on the type of labor. The lack of international consensus on child labor makes the limits of child labor very unclear.[ 15 ]

Therefore, it is mandatory to create international policies that adopt a holistic approach to free quality education for all children, including labor children from poor families. Education should be continued beyond the primary school level and should be done in a formal setting. Studies show that nonformal education is a necessary but not a sufficient prerequisite for permanently withdrawing children from work.[ 15 ] The public educational system should be expanded to accommodate laborer children who still do not have access to school. More schools should be built, more teachers should be trained, and more educational materials should be available. A special attention should be given to children living in exceptional geographical conditions and mobility should be provided at the cost of the community. Children who dropped out of school should receive adequate guidance and support, and a smooth reentry should be facilitated. The development of schools in the rural areas would decrease the load of children in urban schools. This will allow parents to accommodate children's needs without having to migrate in big cities.

Another phenomenon that should be addressed is the social exclusion. Children engaged in the worst forms of child labor come from the lowest strata of the society. International Labor Organization launched a project on Indigen and tribal people, who are the most targeted by social exclusion. This project promotes their rights and encourages building capacity among their community.[ 15 ] Proper enforcement of child labor policies and the focus on education can break the cycle of poverty that drives the children into labor.

Child labor is a public health issue with negative outcomes that demands special attention. A multidisciplinary approach is needed to tackle child labor issues. Per ILO, poverty is a major single cause behind child labor. Lack of affordable schools and affordable education is another major factor to force children to work. Certain cultural beliefs rationalize this practice and encourage child labor as character building and skill development for children. Some cultural traditions encourage child labor as footsteps to their parents' jobs. Socioeconomic disparities, poor governance, and poor implementation of international agreements are among major causes of child labor. Macroeconomic factors also encourage child labor by the growth of low pay informal economy. Child labor prevents the normal well-being including physical, intellectual, and emotional psychosocial development of children. This public health issue cannot be eliminated by only enforcement of child labor laws and regulations. Any comprehensive policies should engulf a holistic approach on the education of children and their families, investment in early childhood development programs, establishing public education task forces in rural areas, implementing policies with focus on increasing adult wages, and discouraging consumers to buy products made by forced child labor. As such, ethical practice requires protection of all rights of children and protective policies and procedures which support the provisions of ILO's standards.

Financial support and sponsorship

Conflicts of interest.

There are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank the University Writing Center at A.T. Still University for assistance with this manuscript.

• Search Menu
• Advance articles
• Editor's Choice
• Supplements
• Author Guidelines
• Submission Site
• Open Access
• About Journal of Public Health
• About the Faculty of Public Health of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom
• Editorial Board
• Self-Archiving Policy
• Dispatch Dates
• Advertising and Corporate Services
• Journals Career Network
• Journals on Oxford Academic
• Books on Oxford Academic

Article Contents

Introduction, methodology.

• < Previous

Child labor and health: a systematic literature review of the impacts of child labor on child’s health in low- and middle-income countries

• Article contents
• Figures & tables
• Supplementary Data

Abdalla Ibrahim, Salma M Abdalla, Mohammed Jafer, Jihad Abdelgadir, Nanne de Vries, Child labor and health: a systematic literature review of the impacts of child labor on child’s health in low- and middle-income countries, Journal of Public Health , Volume 41, Issue 1, March 2019, Pages 18–26, https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdy018

• Permissions Icon Permissions

To summarize current evidence on the impacts of child labor on physical and mental health.

We searched PubMed and ScienceDirect for studies that included participants aged 18 years or less, conducted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and reported quantitative data. Two independent reviewers conducted data extraction and assessment of study quality.

A total of 25 studies were identified, the majority of which were cross-sectional. Child labor was found to be associated with a number of adverse health outcomes, including but not limited to poor growth, malnutrition, higher incidence of infectious and system-specific diseases, behavioral and emotional disorders, and decreased coping efficacy. Quality of included studies was rated as fair to good.

Child labor remains a major public health concern in LMICs, being associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes. Current efforts against child labor need to be revisited, at least in LMICs. Further studies following a longitudinal design, and using common methods to assess the health impact of child labor in different country contexts would inform policy making.

For decades, child labor has been an important global issue associated with inadequate educational opportunities, poverty and gender inequality. 1 Not all types of work carried out by children are considered child labor. Engagement of children or adolescents in work with no influence on their health and schooling is usually regarded positive. The International Labor Organization (ILO) describes child labor as ‘work that deprives children of their childhood, potential and dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development’. 2 This definition includes types of work that are mentally, physically, socially or morally harmful to children; or disrupts schooling.

The topic gained scientific attention with the industrial revolution. Research conducted in the UK, because of adverse outcomes in children, resulted in acts for child labor in 18 02. 3 Many countries followed the UK, in recognition of the associated health risks. The ILO took its first stance in 1973 by setting the minimum age for work. 4 Nevertheless, the ILO and other international organizations that target the issue failed to achieve goals. Child labor was part of the Millennium Development Goals, adopted by 191 nations in 20 00 5 to be achieved by 2015. Subsequently, child labor was included in the Sustainable Development Goals, 6 which explicitly calls for eradication of child labor by 2030.

Despite the reported decline in child labor from 1995 to 2000, it remains a major concern. In 2016, it was estimated that ~150 million children under the age of 14 are engaged in labor worldwide, with most of them working under circumstances that denies them a playful childhood and jeopardize their health. 7 Most working children are 11–14 years, but around 60 million are 5–11 years old. 7 There are no exact numbers of the distribution of child labor globally; however, available statistics show that 96% of child workers are in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 1

Research into the impacts of child labor suggests several associations between child labor and adverse health outcomes. Parker 1 reported that child labor is associated with certain exposures like silica in industries, and HIV infection in prostitution. Additionally, as child labor is associated with maternal illiteracy and poverty, children who work are more susceptible to malnutrition, 1 which predisposes them to various diseases.

A meta-analysis on the topic was published in 20 07. 8 However, authors reported only an association of child labor with higher mortality and morbidity than in the general population, without reporting individual outcome specific effects. 8 Another meta-analysis investigated the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child labor, on health. They reported that ACEs are risk factors for many adverse health outcomes. 9

To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review that attempts to summarize current evidence on the impacts of child labor on both physical and mental health, based on specific outcomes. We review the most recent evidence on the health impacts of child labor in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) according to the World Bank classification. We provide an informative summary of current studies of the impacts of child labor, and reflect upon the progress of anti-child labor policies and laws.

Search strategy

We searched PubMed and ScienceDirect databases. Search was restricted to publications from year 1997 onwards. Only studies written in English were considered. Our search algorithm was [(‘child labor’ OR ‘child labor’ OR ‘working children’ OR ‘occupational health’ OR ‘Adolescent work’ OR ‘working adolescents’) AND (Health OR medical)]. The first third of the algorithm was assigned to titles/abstracts to ensure relevance of the studies retrieved, while the rest of the terms were not. On PubMed, we added […AND (poverty OR ‘low income’ OR ‘developing countries’)] to increase the specificity of results; otherwise, the search results were ~60 times more, with the majority of studies being irrelevant.

Study selection

Studies that met the following criteria were considered eligible: sample age 18 years or less; study was conducted in LMICs; and quantitative data was reported.

Two authors reviewed the titles obtained, a.o. to exclude studies related to ‘medical child labor’ as in childbirth. Abstracts of papers retained were reviewed, and subsequently full studies were assessed for inclusion criteria. Two authors assessed the quality of studies using Downs and Black tool for quality assessment. 10 The tool includes 27 items, yet not all items fit every study. In such cases, we used only relevant items. Total score was the number of items positively evaluated. Studies were ranked accordingly (poor, fair, good) (Table 1 ).

Characteristics of studies included

* The quality is based on the percentage of Downs and Black 10 tool, < 50% = poor, 50–75% = fair, > 75% = good.

** BMI, body mass index.

*** HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus.

Data extraction and management

Two authors extracted the data using a standardized data extraction form. It included focus of study (i.e. physical and/or mental health), exposure (type of child labor), country of study, age group, gender, study design, reported measures (independent variables) and outcome measures (Table 1 ). The extraction form was piloted to ensure standardization of data collection. A third author then reviewed extracted data. Disagreements were solved by discussion.

Search results

A flow diagram (Fig. 1 ) shows the studies selection process. We retrieved 1050 studies on PubMed and 833 studies on Science Direct, with no duplicates in the search results. We also retrieved 23 studies through screening of the references, following the screening by title of retrieved studies. By reviewing title and abstract, 1879 studies were excluded. After full assessment of the remaining studies, 25 were included.

Study selection process.

Characteristics of included studies

Among the included studies ten documented only prevalence estimates of physical diseases, six documented mental and psychosocial health including abuse, and nine reported the prevalence of both mental and physical health impacts (Table 1 ). In total, 24 studies were conducted in one country; one study included data from the Living Standard Measurement Study of 83 LMIC. 8

In total, 12 studies compared outcomes between working children and a control group (Table 1 ). Concerning physical health, many studies reported the prevalence of general symptoms (fever, cough and stunting) or diseases (malnutrition, anemia and infectious diseases). Alternatively, some studies documented prevalence of illnesses or symptoms hypothesized to be associated with child labor (Table 1 ). The majority of studies focusing on physical health conducted clinical examination or collected blood samples.

Concerning mental and psychosocial health, the outcomes documented included abuse with its different forms, coping efficacy, emotional disturbances, mood and anxiety disorders. The outcomes were measured based on self-reporting and using validated measures, for example, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), in local languages.

The majority of studies were ranked as of ‘good quality’, with seven ranked ‘fair’ and one ranked ‘poor’ (Table 1 ). The majority of them also had mixed-gender samples, with only one study restricted to females. 24 In addition, valid measures were used in most studies (Table 1 ). Most studies did not examine the differences between genders.

Child labor and physical health

Fifteen studies examined physical health effects of child labor, including nutritional status, physical growth, work-related illnesses/symptoms, musculoskeletal pain, HIV infection, systematic symptoms, infectious diseases, tuberculosis and eyestrain. Eight studies measured physical health effects through clinical examination or blood samples, in addition to self-reported questionnaires. All studies in which a comparison group was used reported higher prevalence of physical diseases in the working children group.

Two studies were concerned with physical growth and development. A study conducted in Pakistan, 11 reported that child labor is associated with wasting, stunting and chronic malnutrition. A similar study conducted in India compared physical growth and genital development between working and non-working children and reported that child labor is associated with lower BMI, shorter stature and delayed genital development in working boys, while no significant differences were found among females. 12

Concerning work-related illnesses and injuries, a study conducted in Bangladesh reported that there is a statistically significant positive association between child labor and the probability to report any injury or illness, tiredness/exhaustion, body injury and other health problems. Number of hours worked and the probability of reporting injury and illness were positively correlated. Younger children were more likely to suffer from backaches and other health problems (infection, burns and lung diseases), while probability of reporting tiredness/exhaustion was greater in the oldest age group. Furthermore, the frequency of reporting any injury or illness increases with the number of hours worked, with significant variation across employment sectors. 13 A study in Iran reported that industrial workrooms were the most common place for injury (58.2%). Falling from heights or in horizontal surface was the most common mechanism of injury (44%). None of the patients was using a preventive device at the time of injury. Cuts (49.6%) were the most commonly reported injuries. 14

Other studies that investigated the prevalence of general symptoms in working children in Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Indonesia reported that child labor is negatively associated with health. 15 – 19 Watery eyes, chronic cough and diarrhea were common findings, in addition to history of a major injury (permanent loss of an organ, hearing loss, bone fractures, permanent disability). 20 One study, conducted in India reported that working children suffered from anemia, gastrointestinal tract infections, vitamin deficiencies, respiratory tract infections, skin diseases and high prevalence of malnutrition. 21 Another study—of poor quality—in India reported that child labor was associated with higher incidence of infectious diseases compared to non-working children. 22

Only a few studies focused on specific diseases. A study in Brazil compared the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain between working and non-working children. Authors reported that the prevalence of pain in the neck, knee, wrist or hands, and upper back exceeded 15%. Workers in manufacturing had a significantly increased risk for musculoskeletal pain and back pain, while child workers in domestic services had 17% more musculoskeletal pain and 23% more back pain than non-workers. Awkward posture and heavy physical work were associated with musculoskeletal pain, while monotonous work, awkward posture and noise were associated with back pain. 23 A study in Nicaragua, which focused on children working in agriculture, reported that child labor in agriculture poses a serious threat to children’s health; specifically, acute pesticides poisoning. 24

A study conducted in India reported that the prevalence of eyestrain in child laborers was 25.9%, which was significantly more than the 12.4% prevalence in a comparison group. Prevalence was higher in boys and those who work more than 4 h daily. 25 Another study conducted in India documented that the difference between working and non-working children in the same area in respiratory morbidities (TB, hilar gland enlargement/calcification) was statistically significant. 26

A study in Iran explored the prevalence of viral infections (HIV, HCV and HBV) in working children. 27 The study reported that the prevalence among working street children was much higher than in general population. The 4.5% of children were HIV positive, 1.7% were hepatitis B positive and 2.6% hepatitis C positive. The likelihood of being HIV positive among working children of Tehran was increased by factors like having experience in trading sex, having parents who used drugs or parents infected with HCV.

Lastly, one study was a meta-analysis conducted on data of working children in 83 LMIC documented that child labor is significantly and positively related to adolescent mortality, to a population’s nutrition level, and to the presence of infectious diseases. 8

Child labor and mental health

Overall, all studies included, except one, 28 reported that child labor is associated with higher prevalence of mental and/or behavioral disorders. In addition, all studies concluded that child labor is associated with one or more forms of abuse.

A study conducted in Jordan reported a significant difference in the level of coping efficacy and psychosocial health between working non-schooled children, working school children and non-working school children. Non-working school children had a better performance on the SDQ scale. Coping efficacy of working non-schooled children was lower than that of the other groups. 29

A study conducted in Pakistan reported that the prevalence of behavioral problems among working children was 9.8%. Peer problems were most prevalent, followed by problems of conduct. 30 A study from Ethiopia 31 reported that emotional and behavioral disorders are more common among working children. However, another study in Ethiopia 28 reported a lower prevalence of mental/behavioral disorders in child laborers compared to non-working children. The stark difference between these two studies could be due to the explanation provided by Alem et al. , i.e. that their findings could have been tampered by selection bias or healthy worker effect.

A study concerned with child abuse in Bangladesh reported that the prevalence of abuse and child exploitation was widespread. Boys were more exposed. Physical assault was higher towards younger children while other types were higher towards older ones. 32 A similar study conducted in Turkey documented that 62.5% of the child laborers were subjected to abuse at their workplaces; 21.8% physical, 53.6% emotional and 25.2% sexual, 100% were subjected to physical neglect and 28.7% were subjected to emotional neglect. 33

One study focused on sexual assault among working females in Nigeria. They reported that the sexual assault rate was 77.7%. In 38.6% of assault cases, the assailant was a customer. Girls who were younger than 12 years, had no formal education, worked for more than 8 h/day, or had two or more jobs were more likely to experience sexual assault. 34

Main findings of this study

Through a comprehensive systematic review, we conclude that child labor continues to be a major public health challenge. Child labor continues to be negatively associated with the physical and psychological health of children involved. Although no cause–effect relation can be established, as all studies included are cross-sectional, studies documented higher prevalence of different health issues in working children compared to control groups or general population.

This reflects a failure of policies not only to eliminate child labor, but also to make it safer. Although there is a decline in the number of working children, the quality of life of those still engaged in child labor seems to remain low.

Children engaged in labor have poor health status, which could be precipitated or aggravated by labor. Malnutrition and poor growth were reported to be highly prevalent among working children. On top of malnutrition, the nature of labor has its effects on child’s health. Most of the studies adjusted for the daily working hours. Long working hours have been associated with poorer physical outcomes. 18 , 19 , 25 , 26 , 35 It was also reported that the likelihood of being sexually abused increased with increasing working hours. 34 The different types and sectors of labor were found to be associated with different health outcomes as well. 13 , 18 , 24 However, comparing between the different types of labor was not possible due to lack of data.

The majority of studies concluded that child labor is associated with higher prevalence of mental and behavioral disorders, as shown in the results. School attendance, family income and status, daily working hours and likelihood of abuse, in its different forms, were found to be associated with the mental health outcomes in working children. These findings are consistent with previous studies and research frameworks. 36

Child labor subjects children to abuse, whether verbally, physically or sexually which ultimately results in psychological disturbances and behavioral disorders. Moreover, peers and colleagues at work can affect the behavior of children, for example, smoking or drugs. The effects of child labor on psychological health can be long lasting and devastating to the future of children involved.

What is already known on this topic

Previous reviews have described different adverse health impacts of child labor. However, there were no previous attempts to review the collective health impacts of child labor. Working children are subjected to different risk factors, and the impacts of child labor are usually not limited to one illness. Initial evidence of these impacts was published in the 1920s. Since then, an increasing number of studies have used similar methods to assess the health impacts of child labor. Additionally, most of the studies are confined to a single country.

What this study adds

To our knowledge, this is the first review that provides a comprehensive summary of both the physical and mental health impacts of child labor. Working children are subjected to higher levels of physical and mental stress compared to non-working children and adults performing the same type of work. Unfortunately, the results show that these children are at risk of developing short and long-term health complications, physically or mentally.

Though previous systematic reviews conducted on the topic in 19 97 1 and 20 07 8 reported outcomes in different measures, our findings reflect similar severity of the health impacts of child labor. This should be alarming to organizations that set child labor as a target. We have not reviewed the policies targeting child labor here, yet our findings show that regardless of policies in place, further action is needed.

Most of the current literature about child labor follow a cross-sectional design, which although can reflect the health status of working children, it cannot establish cause–effect associations. This in turn affects strategies and policies that target child labor.

In addition, comparing the impacts of different labor types in different countries will provide useful information on how to proceed. Further research following a common approach in assessing child labor impacts in different countries is needed.

Limitations of this study

First, we acknowledge that all systematic reviews are subject to publication bias. Moreover, the databases used might introduce bias as most of the studies indexed by them are from industrialized countries. However, these databases were used for their known quality and to allow reproduction of the data. Finally, despite our recognition of the added value of meta-analytic methods, it was not possible to conduct one due to lack of a common definition for child labor, differences in inclusion and exclusion criteria, different measurements and different outcome measures. Nevertheless, to minimize bias, we employed rigorous search methods including an extensive and comprehensive search, and data extraction by two independent reviewers.

Compliance with ethical standards

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Parker DL . Child labor. The impact of economic exploitation on the health and welfare of children . Minn Med 1997 ; 80 : 10 – 2 .

Google Scholar

Hilowitz J . Child Labour: A Textbook for University Students . International Labour Office , 2004 .

Google Preview

Humphries J . Childhood and child labour in the British industrial revolution . Econ Hist Rev 2013 ; 66 ( 2 ): 395 – 418 .

Dahlén M . The negotiable child: the ILO child labour campaign 1919–1973. Diss . 2007 .

Sachs JD , McArthur JW . The millennium project: a plan for meeting the millennium development goals . Lancet 2005 ; 365 ( 9456 ): 347 – 53 .

Griggs D et al.  Policy: sustainable development goals for people and planet . Nature 2013 ; 495 ( 7441 ): 305 – 7 .

UNICEF . The state of the world’s children 2016: a fair chance for every child. Technical Report, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 2016 .

Roggero P , Mangiaterra V , Bustreo F et al.  The health impact of child labor in developing countries: evidence from cross-country data . Am J Public Health 2007 ; 97 ( 2 ): 271 – 5 .

Hughes K , Bellis MA , Hardcastle KA et al.  The effect of multiple adverse childhood experiences on health: a systematic review and meta-analysis . Lancet Public Health 2017 ; 2 ( 8 ): e356 – 66 .

Downs SH , Black N . The feasibility of creating a checklist for the assessment of the methodological quality both of randomised and non-randomised studies of health care interventions . J Epidemiol Community Health 1998 ; 52 ( 6 ): 377 – 84 .

Ali M , Shahab S , Ushijima H et al.  Street children in Pakistan: a situational analysis of social conditions and nutritional status . Soc Sci Med 2004 ; 59 ( 8 ): 1707 – 17 .

Ambadekar NN , Wahab SN , Zodpey SP et al.  Effect of child labour on growth of children . Public Health 1999 ; 113 ( 6 ): 303 – 6 .

Ahmed S , Ray R . Health consequences of child labour in Bangladesh . Demogr Res 2014 ; 30 : 111 – 50 .

Hosseinpour M , Mohammadzadeh M , Atoofi M . Work-related injuries with child labor in Iran . Eur J Pediatr Surg 2014 ; 24 ( 01 ): 117 – 20 .

Mohammed ES , Ewis AA , Mahfouz EM . Child labor in a rural Egyptian community: an epidemiological study . Int J Public Health 2014 ; 59 ( 4 ): 637 – 44 .

Nuwayhid IA , Usta J , Makarem M et al.  Health of children working in small urban industrial shops . Occup Environ Med 2005 ; 62 ( 2 ): 86 – 94 .

Wolff FC . Evidence on the impact of child labor on child health in Indonesia, 1993–2000 . Econ Hum Biol 2008 ; 6 ( 1 ): 143 – 69 .

Hamdan-Mansour AM , Al-Gamal E , Sultan MK et al.  Health status of working children in Jordan: comparison between working and nonworking children at schools and industrial sites . Open J Nurs 2013 ; 3 ( 01 ): 55 .

Tiwari RR , Saha A . Morbidity profile of child labor at gem polishing units of Jaipur, India . Int J Occup Environ Med 2014 ; 5 ( 3 ): 125 – 9 .

Khan H , Hameed A , Afridi AK . Study on child labour in automobile workshops of Peshawar, Pakistan, 2007 .

Banerjee SR , Bharati P , Vasulu TS et al.  Whole time domestic child labor in metropolitan city of Kolkata, 2008 .

Daga AS , Working IN . Relative risk and prevalence of illness related to child labor in a rural block . Indian Pediatr 2000 ; 37 ( 12 ): 1359 – 60 .

Fassa AG , Facchini LA , Dall’Agnol MM et al.  Child labor and musculoskeletal disorders: the Pelotas (Brazil) epidemiological survey . Public Health Rep 2005 ; 120 ( 6 ): 665 – 73 .

Corriols M , Aragón A . Child labor and acute pesticide poisoning in Nicaragua: failure to comply with children’s rights . Int J Occup Environ Health 2010 ; 16 ( 2 ): 175 – 82 .

Tiwari RR . Eyestrain in working children of footwear making units of Agra, India . Indian Pediatr 2013 ; 50 ( 4 ): 411 – 3 .

Tiwari RR , Saha A , Parikh JR . Respiratory morbidities among working children of gem polishing industries, India . Toxicol Ind Health 2009 ; 25 ( 1 ): 81 – 4 .

Foroughi M , Moayedi-Nia S , Shoghli A et al.  Prevalence of HIV, HBV and HCV among street and labour children in Tehran, Iran . Sex Transm Infect 2016 ; 93 ( 6 ): 421 – 23 .

Alem AA , Zergaw A , Kebede D et al.  Child labor and childhood behavioral and mental health problems in Ethiopia . Ethiopian J Health Dev 2006 ; 20 ( 2 ): 119 – 26 .

Al-Gamal E , Hamdan-Mansour AM , Matrouk R et al.  The psychosocial impact of child labour in Jordan: a national study . Int J Psychol 2013 ; 48 ( 6 ): 1156 – 64 .

Bandeali S , Jawad A , Azmatullah A et al.  Prevalence of behavioural and psychological problems in working children . J Pak Med Assoc 2008 ; 58 ( 6 ): 345 .

Fekadu D , Alem A , Hägglöf B . The prevalence of mental health problems in Ethiopian child laborers . J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2006 Sep 1; 47 ( 9 ): 954 – 9 .

Hadi A . Child abuse among working children in rural Bangladesh: prevalence and determinants . Public Health 2000 ; 114 ( 5 ): 380 – 4 .

Öncü E , Kurt AÖ , Esenay FI et al.  Abuse of working children and influencing factors, Turkey . Child Abuse Negl 2013 ; 37 ( 5 ): 283 – 91 .

Audu B , Geidam A , Jarma H . Child labor and sexual assault among girls in Maiduguri, Nigeria . Int J Gynecol Obstet 2009 Jan 31; 104 ( 1 ): 64 – 7 .

Gross R , Landfried B , Herman S . Height and weight as a reflection of the nutritional situation of school-aged children working and living in the streets of Jakarta . Soc Sci Med 1996 Aug 1; 43 ( 4 ): 453 – 8 .

Woodhead M . Psychosocial impacts of child work: a framework for research, monitoring and intervention . Int J Child Rts 2004 ; 12 : 321 .

• developing countries
• mental health
• child labor

Email alerts

Citing articles via.

• Recommend to your Library

Affiliations

• Online ISSN 1741-3850
• Print ISSN 1741-3842
• Copyright © 2024 Faculty of Public Health
• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Institutional account management
• Rights and permissions
• Get help with access
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Assessment of the impact of child labour on children educational achivment

ABSTRACT Child labour is an important aspect of social and economic reality that surrounds us although it is sometimes unnoticed. It is the severe problem of the world in general and the sub-Saharan countries like Ethiopia in particular in which children are considered an asset and means to improve livelihood of their family at the expense of their education. The attempt towards the elimination of child labor in Ethiopia is still lagging compare to the rest world. This in turn is affecting adversely the accumulation of human capital. Thus, the researcherwas intended to assess the impact of Child Labour on Children’s Educational Achievement in Ganta Afeshum Woredaand give the possible solution to overcome this problem. To realize this objective, the researcher employed qualitative approach and used in depth interview, FGD, key informant interview, personal observation data collection instruments and employed descriptive research and purposive sampling technique. The researcher analyzed the finding qualitatively through interpretation, description and summarization of the data. As the finding of the study indicates child labour is sever in rural area than urban area and also girls are more exposed for child labour than boys, children are involved in domestic and non-domestic productive activities. The attitude of communities toward child labour is also positive; they consider children as valuable asset for contributing family income. The views of households on working children arise commonly from their poor knowledge about the issue and is directed by traditional outlooks of uprooting ‘milk teeth’, that is seen as a shift from childhood to adulthood. As the finding indicates, Child labour has an impact on children’s educational achievement by making them: repeated the class, absenteeism from class, drop out, make very tired, shortage of times for study and reducing the chance to access education, beside this, as the finding indicate attitude of the communities, employers, poverty coupled with limited access to credit, health and family size as well as the abusive practices are thechallenges that hamper eliminating of child labour. Finally, as the finding indicate the local administratorstrategy of employing one sector, one children and work with NGOs, private sector and public sectors paly significant role via improving the future childhood of children, however,the involvement kebele administrator in tackling the problem is at low level, their understanding about child labour and implementing the existing legislation are poor though there are adequate law pertinent to children. Key words: Child Labour, Educational Achievement, Children

Related Papers

Child labour is the serious problems of the world in general and the sub-Saharan countries like Ethiopia in particular in which children are considered as asset and means to improve their livelihoods. This resulted low human capital accumulation by making children out of schooling. Child work, and the need for earnings, is almost certainly a key factor in children not accessing school and achievement good result. Thus, the researchers were intended to assess the impact of Child Labour on Children’s Educational Achievement in Ganta Afeshum Woreda. To realize this objective, the researchers employed qualitative approach and used in depth interview, FGD, key informant interview, personal observation data collection instruments and employed descriptive research and purpose sampling technique. At the end, the researchers analyzed the finding qualitatively through interpretation, description and summarization of the data.

Deng Gatluak Riek

Nurlign Birhan

QUEST JOURNALS

Pastoralists are among the marginalized groups of society who live in a marginalized environment and whose livelihood is exposed to the vagaries of climate and harsh environmental conditions. This study explores into impediments of pastoral children's participation into schooling and education with particular emphasis on the primary school of selected Woreda, Afar Zone. To achieve this purpose, a qualitative research method was employed. Participants of the study were selected by employing purposive sampling mainly on the basis of their roles related to schooling. Seven members of parent teacher associations, 20 teachers, 4 school principals, 14 education experts and officials, a total of 45 respondents took part in the study. Data were collected through the use of different instruments: Strutted interview, focus group discussion, and document review and observation checklist. The data obtained through these data collection instruments were analysed thematically. The steps involved were organizing and preparing data for analysis, reading through all data, coding, generating a description of the settings and people and identifying categories or themes for analysis, representing descriptions and themes in the qualitative narrative and interpretation. The study identified several cultural and economic barriers such as early marriage, lack of interest for modern education, parental level of education, mobility, child labor, poverty and finance. The results also showed that existence of both supply and demand side constraints. Problem of funding, inability to attract and retain qualified teaching staff, poorly equipped schools and community perception of modern education as a threat to pastoralist way of life were the major supply related shortcomings. The demand side limitations were identified as dispersed settlement patterns, demand for child labour, bride-price and peer pressure. Mandatory seasonal mobility, frequent conflicts and conflict induced displacement were cited as the most pronounced disenabling features.Drought and harsh weather were the driving forces of mobility. Competition over water sources and pastureland coupled with border dispute and cattle raid were identified as the long standing causes of armed conflict which in turn result in school activity disruption. Thus, based on the findings, recommendation is made to planners and policymakers so as to alleviate the observed shortcomings. Improving quality of school facilities, sensitization campaign on the benefits of education, blended mode of delivery, peace dialogue to arrest recurring conflicts, self-proof of schools about their worthiness to the local community and rethinking of teacher incentive mechanisms are some of the important propositions made in view to avert the long standing legacy of educational under representation of the Afar pastoralist communities in Ethiopia.

Eshetu Fekadu

Abstract: As is the case with other developing countries of the world, child labor is also a problem in Ethiopia. Child labor is mainly caused by poverty and the socio-cultural perspectives of society, where inhabitants require the labor of their children for household tasks and agricultural activities than sending them to school. The study was conducted to assess the general situation of child labor exploitation and children’s participation in primary education in selected primary schools at Debub Omo Zone and thereby to recommend mechanisms to alleviate the problem. This study has used both primary and secondary data sources. The methods used to collect primary data include: in depth-interview, focus group discussion, and observation. Informants were selected by purposive and available sampling techniques based on variables: age, sex, religion, education, occupation and marital status and a total of 58 informants participated in the study. Findings of the study revealed that child labor became a major problem in the study area, where it is closely associated with poverty and socio-cultural viewpoint of the society, which value children as an economic asset of their families. As a result of this, children were forced to drop their schooling or not got the chance to go to school. As the study reveals, children were expected to perform both domestic activities (such as cooking, fetching water and fire wood, caring siblings and washing) and productive activities (like cultivating, planting, weeding, harvesting, and keeping cattle and goats). The finding also indicates that child labor affects the physical, social, emotional, educational and health conditions of the working child. Therefore, it needs collaborative effort of all governmental, non-governmental and family’s effort in the fight against child labor, so as to ensure children’s school participation. Keywords: Child labor, Exploitation, Participation, Debube Omo, Zone.

Dursa Aliyi

Daniel Agena

mesay tekle

mustafe muhumed

MA thesis in educational leadership and management at jigjiga university of Ethiopia

RELATED PAPERS

Shoko Yamada

Getachew Demie

Berhanu Kuma

Bosha Bombe

Tone Sommerfelt , Henriette Lunde

Dawit Soge Soto

Bahre Gebru

Environment and Development Economics

Sosina Bezu

Mulatu Lerra

Anetneh Ethiopia

Berhanu Kuma , Teshome Desta , mesfine sodd , Andualem Ufo , Abrham Taddele , Ashenafi Selassie

Emebet Mulugeta

sata shiferaw

Dr. Serawit H Melkato

Dakmara Georgescu

Fitsum Aregawi

Putting Children First: new frontiers in the fight against child poverty in Africa.

Elizabeth Ngutuku

Rakeb Aberra , Fasil Mulatu Gessesse

Temesgen Thomas , Birhanie A L E M U Kebede

Hashutaw Wolebo

Michael W. Thomas

jibril babayo

Mikiyas Defabachew

etd.aau.edu.et

Ashenafi Tirfie

Solomon Kebede

19_ICES_The_Book_of_Abstracts

Mehari Worku

Abdu Ahmedin

Shefan Ze Axum

Tariku Tadesse

Bisrat Kassahun

furio rosati

DAVID M THOLLEY

Kristen Cheney

Damene M A T S A N A Malado

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

• Bibliography
• More Referencing guides Blog Automated transliteration Relevant bibliographies by topics
• Automated transliteration
• Relevant bibliographies by topics
• Referencing guides

Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Child labor'

Create a spot-on reference in apa, mla, chicago, harvard, and other styles.

Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Child labor.'

Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.

You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.

Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.

Voy, Annie. "Globalization and child labor /." Connect to title online (ProQuest), 2009. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1883686921&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=11238&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

Okusa, Maki. "Child labor in Asia : challenges and responses of the International Labour Organization in Thailand and India /." Connect to title online (Scholars' Bank), 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/7779.

Zheng, Xinye. "The Economics of Child Labor." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2006. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/econ_diss/16.

Clott, Timothy Alec. "Understanding the Relationship Between Poverty, Education and Child Labor: An Analysis of Child Labor in Nigeria." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/64398.

Maffei, Alessandro. "The political economy of child labor." [S.l. : s.n.], 2005. http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=975789635.

Oryoie, Ali Reza. "Essays on Child Labor and Inequality." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/72965.

Kleinberger, Jacob. "Child labor in developing countries : a child exploitation measure (CEM)." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 1998. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/40.

Vimefall, Elin. "Essays on child education, child labor and the agricultural economy." Doctoral thesis, Örebro universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Örebro Universitet, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-44890.

Mudzongo, Courage Chikomborero. "Understanding Child Work and Child Labor in the 21st Century." Thesis, North Dakota State University, 2012. https://hdl.handle.net/10365/26768.

Saharia, Priyam. "LABOR VERSUS LEARNING: EXPLAINING THE STATE-WISE VARIATION OF CHILD LABOR IN INDIA." UKnowledge, 2014. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/polysci_etds/10.

Ranade, Elizabeth. "Do international sanctions reduce child labor? evaluating the impact of the 1992 U.S. Child Labor Deterrence Act on Bangladesh /." CONNECT TO ELECTRONIC THESIS, 2007. http://dspace.wrlc.org/handle/1961/4269.

Fatima, Ambreen. "Economics of child labour." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2013. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12967/.

Gorshkov, Boris Borisovich. "Factory children child industrial labor in Imperial Russia, 1780-1914 /." Auburn, Ala., 2006. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/2006%20Fall/Dissertations/GORSHKOV_BORIS_40.pdf.

Morgan, Sarah. "Credit and child labor the impact of parents' access to credit on children's labor /." CONNECT TO ELECTRONIC THESIS, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1961/6130.

Sauder, Markus Ulrich. "Essays on the economics of child labour and child education." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2007. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/3622/.

Sallee, Shelley Kathryn. "Inventing 'The forgotten child' : the whiteness of child labor reform in the new South /." Digital version accessible at:, 1998. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/main.

Eck, Klara, and Åsa Ullén. "A child labor free Philippine : When will that be?" Thesis, Ersta Sköndal högskola, Institutionen för socialt arbete, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:esh:diva-1230.

Lee, Chanyoung. "Three essays on child labor, schooling outcomes and health." [Ames, Iowa : Iowa State University], 2007.

Tong, Patricia K. "Three essays in labor economics." Diss., [La Jolla] : University of California, San Diego, 2010. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p3403247.

Okusa, Maki 1976. "Child Labor in Asia: Challenges and Responses of the International Labour Organization in Thailand and India." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/7779.

Pan, Jiali. "The effects of child labor on school attendance in Cambodia." Connect to Electronic Thesis (CONTENTdm), 2010. http://worldcat.org/oclc/646824964/viewonline.

Church, Audrey Leigh. "International standards and domestic compliance: the issue of child labor." FIU Digital Commons, 2002. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2362.

Sam, Victoria Nyarkoah [Verfasser]. "Child Labor in Ghana: A multidimensional analysis / Victoria Nyarkoah Sam." Kiel : Universitätsbibliothek Kiel, 2016. http://d-nb.info/112211091X/34.

Adisa, Bidemi Toyosi. "Income and child labor : evidence from agricultural households in Ethiopia." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60831.

Dutta, Gitanjali. "Child labor in Vietnam : the relative importance of poverty, returns to education, labor mobility, and credit constraints /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2002. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p3074396.

Reiling, Robert. "A Child Left Behind: An Empirical Analysis of the Correlates and Consequences of Child Labor in Brazil." Thesis, Boston College, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/479.

Grime, Jill. "Children in between : child rights and child placement in Sri Lanka." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2000. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/3675/.

Strayhorn, Kali-Ahset Amen. "Women's paid labor force participation and child immunization a multilevel model /." College Park, Md. : University of Maryland, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/3583.

Khadka, Manbar Singh. "The relationship between child labor and microfinance evidence from rural Bangladesh /." College Park, Md.: University of Maryland, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/9660.

Chamarbagwala, Rubiana Merwan. "The role of capital-skill complementarities in child labor & schooling." College Park, Md. : University of Maryland, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/1693.

Archampong, Elizabeth A. "The impact of child labor laws in Ghana, a critical assessment." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/MQ63265.pdf.

Chen, Yang. "Essays on Child Custody Laws, Divorce, and Child Outcomes." The Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397806698.

Mongado, Blair Coja. "Essays in Child Care Quality." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/26186.

Angemi, Diego. "Poverty, vulnerability, and child labour : evidence from Uganda." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2008. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12459/.

Ashby, Elizabeth. "The effect of child support on family behavior." Related electronic resource: Current Research at SU : database of SU dissertations, recent titles available full text, 2006. http://proquest.umi.com/login?COPT=REJTPTU0NWQmSU5UPTAmVkVSPTI=&clientId=3739.

Bahati, Angela Anthony. "A critical analysis of international legal regulations of child labour : a case study of Tanzania." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10161.

Tamefuji, Rieko. "The impact of child care proximity on labor force participation of parents." CONNECT TO ELECTRONIC THESIS, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1961/6990.

Kibukamusoke, Martha. "A critical analysis of child labour and human resource development in Uganda." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1196.

Fedewa, Lauren Elizabeth. "Between Extermination and Child-Rearing: The Foreign Child-Care Facilities of Volkswagen and Velpke." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2018. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/946.

Aguilar, Esteva Arturo. "Essays in Development and Labor Economics." Thesis, Harvard University, 2012. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:10413.

Humbert, Franziska. "The challenge of child labour in international law /." Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2009. http://opac.nebis.ch/cgi-bin/showAbstract.pl?u20=9780521764902.

Viaro, Arthur Augusto. "The impact of trade shock exposure on child labor and schooling in Brazil." Universidade de São Paulo, 2017. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/12/12138/tde-26092017-101518/.

Abu, Sharkh Miriam. "History and results of labor standard initiatives an event history and panel analysis of the ratification patterns, and effects, of the International Labor Organization's first Child Labor Convention /." [S.l. : s.n.], 2002. http://www.diss.fu-berlin.de/2002/227/index.html.

Smith, Lauren C. "Re-evaluating poverty alleviation strategies: the impact of microfinance on child labor in Bangladesh." Claremont McKenna College, 2008. http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/u?/stc,39.

Smith, Lauren C. "Re-Evaluating Poverty Alleviation Strategies: The Impact of Microfinance on Child Labor in Bangladesh." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2011. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/224.

Wind, Steven. "A Reconsideration of Child Labor from the Perspectives of Multiple Stakeholders in Mysore, India." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/195175.

Malik, Garima. "The role of parenting style in child substance use." Connect to resource, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1118077175.

Robinson, Shirleene. ""Something like slavery"? : the exploitation of Aboriginal child labour in Queensland, 1842-1945 /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2002. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe16845.pdf.

Mantovani, Aline Madia [UNESP]. "Trabalho infantil e desenvolvimento na perspectiva de profissionais da educação e famílias." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/92259.

Patrick, Amanda A. "THE EFFECT OF MICROCREDIT ON POVERTY: THE EXTENT TO WHICH MICROCREDIT INFLUENCES AVERAGE DAILY HOURS SPENT IN PRIMARY SCHOOL." OpenSIUC, 2010. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/162.

Advertisement

Factors Fuelling the Persistence of Child Labour: Evidence from Pakistan

• Published: 16 May 2024

Cite this article

• Shahla Akram   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3857-3950 1 ,
• Mehboob Ul Hassan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3453-695X 2 &
• Muhammad Farrukh Shahzad   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6578-4139 3  

26 Accesses

Explore all metrics

The persistence of child labour globally can be attributed to a complex interplay of multifaceted factors. This study examines the relationship between these diverse factors of child labour, such as economic activities, working hours, hazardous conditions and overall prevalence. Logistic regression analysis was conducted using data from Pakistan’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS sixth wave). According to the data, poor quality education worsens child labour, while parental education and wealth protect against it. Gender differences, child disabilities, regional differences and non-violent behaviour all have significant impacts on labour force participation. This study highlights the complex interactions between socioeconomic and regional factors in determining child labour. It fills gaps in the existing literature by focusing on previously overlooked elements such as nonviolent behaviour and comprehensive disability interactions, as well as conducting a comprehensive examination of socioeconomic determinants. Understanding these dynamics is critical to targeted initiatives to eliminate child labour and ensure the well-being of children.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Determinants of child labour practices in Ghana

Measuring Child Labour: The Indian Scenario

• Child Labour

Data Availability

Publicly available data.

Abdullah, A., Huynh, I., Emery, C. R., & Jordan, L. P. (2022). Social norms and family child labor: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 19 (7), 4082.

Article   Google Scholar  

Abebe, T., & Bessell, S. (2011). Dominant discourses, debates and silences on child labour in Africa and Asia. Third World Quarterly , 32 (4), 765–786. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2011.567007

Adonteng-Kissi, O. (2018). Causes of child labour: Perceptions of rural and urban parents in Ghana. Children and Youth Services Review , 91 , 55–65.

Adonteng-Kissi, O. (2023). Parental perceptions of the nature of child labour in rural and urban Ghana: Cultural versus economic necessity. Child Care in Practice , 29 (2), 118–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2020.1868407

Afriyie, L. T., Saeed, B. I., & Alhassan, A. (2019). Determinants of child labour practices in Ghana. Journal of Public Health , 27 , 211–217.

Alam, A. (2022). Positive psychology goes to School: Conceptualizing students’ happiness in 21st Century Schools while ‘Minding the mind!’ Are we there yet? Evidence-backed, school-based positive psychology interventions. ECS Transactions , 107 (1), 11199. https://doi.org/10.1149/10701.11199ecst

Alam, S., Adnan, Z. H., Baten, M. A., & Bag, S. (2022). Assessing vulnerability of informal floating workers in Bangladesh before and during COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-method analysis. Benchmarking: An International Journal , 29 (5), 1677–1702.

Ali, I., Manzoor, M., Ahmad, S., Noreen, S., Masroor, A., & Mahmood, Z. (2022). Socio-economic and health determinants of child labor: An overview of multiple index cluster survey. Pakistan Journal of Medical & Health Sciences , 16 (02), 860–860.

Aman, S., Mahmood, F., & Ahmed, A. (2023). Are migrant children at Risk of Child Labour? Empirical evidence from Pakistan . Forum for Social Economics.

Google Scholar  

Ansar, A. (2023). Bangladeshi women migrants amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: Revisiting globalization, dependency and gendered precarity in south–south labour migration. Global Networks , 23 (1), 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12368

Arslan, M. (2020). Mechanisms of labour exploitation: The case of Pakistan. International Journal of Law and Management , 62 (1), 1–21.

Aslam, M. (2009). Education gender gaps in Pakistan: Is the labor market to blame? Economic Development and Cultural Change , 57 (4), 747–784.

Atteraya, M. S., Ebrahim, N. B., & Gnawali, S. (2018). Determinants of child maltreatment in Nepal: Results from the 2014 Nepal multiple indicator cluster survey (the 2014 NMICS). Child Abuse & Neglect , 76 , 400–407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.11.018

Awaworyi Churchill, S., Iqbal, N., Nawaz, S., & Yew, S. L. (2021). Unconditional cash transfers, child labour and education: Theory and evidence. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization , 186 , 437–457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.04.012

Bansal, V., Wallach, J., Lira Brandão, J., Lord, S., Taha, N., Akoglu, T., Kiss, L., & Zimmerman, C. (2023). An intervention-focused review of modern slave labor in Brazil’s mining sector. World Development , 171 , 106362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106362

Bhalotra, S. (2007). Is child work necessary? Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics , 69 (1), 29–55.

Bousselin, A. (2022). Access to universal childcare and its effect on maternal employment. Review of Economics of the Household , 20 (2), 497–532.

Brown, K. (2019). Vulnerability and child sexual exploitation: Towards an approach grounded in life experiences. Critical Social Policy , 39 (4), 622–642.

Bundervoet, T., Dávalos, M. E., & Garcia, N. (2022). The short-term impacts of COVID-19 on households in developing countries: An overview based on a harmonized dataset of high-frequency surveys. World Development , 153 , 105844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.105844

Burrone, S., & Giannelli, G. C. (2020). Child labour, gender and vulnerable employment in adulthood. Evidence for Tanzania. The Journal of Development Studies , 56 (12), 2235–2250.

Caroleo, F. E., Rocca, A., Neagu, G., & Keranova, D. (2022). NEETs and the process of transition from school to the labor market: A comparative analysis of Italy, Romania, and Bulgaria. Youth & Society , 54 (2_suppl), 109S–129S.

Chudgar, A., Grover, V., Hatakeyama, S., & Bizhanova, A. (2022). Child labor as a barrier to foundational skills: Evidence from Bangladesh and Pakistan. Prospects , 52 (1), 137–156.

Colmer, J. (2021). Rainfall variability, child labor, and human capital accumulation in rural Ethiopia. American Journal of Agricultural Economics , 103 (3), 858–877.

Constantino, S. M., Sparkman, G., Kraft-Todd, G. T., Bicchieri, C., Centola, D., Shell-Duncan, B., Vogt, S., & Weber, E. U. (2022). Scaling up change: A critical review and practical guide to harnessing social norms for Climate Action. Psychological Science in the Public Interest , 23 (2), 50–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/15291006221105279

Crea, T. M., Evans, K., Hasson, I. I. I., Neville, R. G., Werner, S., Wanjiku, K., Okumu, E., Arnold, N., Velandria, G. S., E., & Bruni, D. (2023). Inclusive education for children with disabilities in a refugee camp. Disasters , 47 (1), 99–113.

Dahal, P., Joshi, S. K., & Swahnberg, K. (2022). A qualitative study on gender inequality and gender-based violence in Nepal. BMC Public Health , 22 (1), 2005. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14389-x

Das, K. S. (2022). Child labour and its determinants in India. Children and Youth Services Review , 138 , 106523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106523

Dayıoğlu, M., & Kırdar, M. G. (2022). Keeping kids in school and out of work: Compulsory schooling and child labor in Turkey. Journal of Human Capital , 16 (4), 526–555.

Editorial. (2023). Advancing the rights of street and working children. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health , 7 (4). https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(23)00058-5

Emerson, E., & Llewellyn, G. (2021). Youth with disabilities are more likely than their peers to engage in hazardous child labour. Child: Care Health and Development , 47 (1), 119–127.

Gatignon, A., & Capron, L. (2023). The firm as an architect of polycentric governance: Building open institutional infrastructure in emerging markets. Strategic Management Journal , 44 (1), 48–85.

Graham, M., Weale, V., Lambert, K. A., Kinsman, N., Stuckey, R., & Oakman, J. (2021). Working at home: The impacts of COVID 19 on health, family-work-life conflict, gender, and parental responsibilities. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine , 63 (11), 938–943. https://doi.org/10.1097/jom.0000000000002337

Grech, S. (2019). Disabled families: The impacts of disability and care on family labour and poverty in rural Guatemala. Societies , 9 (4), 76.

Gunnarsson, V., Orazem, P. F., & Sánchez, M. A. (2006). Child labor and school achievement in Latin America. The World Bank Economic Review , 20 (1), 31–54.

Gupta, A., Zhu, H., Doan, M. K., Michuda, A., & Majumder, B. (2021). Economic impacts of the COVID– 19 lockdown in a remittance-dependent region. American Journal of Agricultural Economics , 103 (2), 466–485. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12178

Haile, G., & Haile, B. (2012). Child labour and child schooling in rural Ethiopia: Nature and trade-off. Education Economics , 20 (4), 365–385. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2011.623376

Hamenoo, E. S., Dwomoh, E. A., & Dako-Gyeke, M. (2018). Child labour in Ghana: Implications for children’s education and health. Children and Youth Services Review , 93 , 248–254.

Hattar-Pollara, M. (2019). Barriers to education of Syrian refugee girls in Jordan: Gender-based threats and challenges. Journal of Nursing Scholarship , 51 (3), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12480

Hoque, M. M. (2021). Forced labour and access to education of Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh: Beyond a humanitarian crisis. Journal of Modern Slavery: A Multidisciplinary Exploration of Human Trafficking Solutions, 6 (3), 19–33. https://doi.org/10.22150/jms/ppjy4309

Hoque, M. M. (2023). Understanding the role of structural factors and realities in normalizing child labour in urban slums of Bangladesh. Cogent Social Sciences , 9 (2), 2272319. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2272319

Ichimura, H., & Thompson, T. S. (1998). Maximum likelihood estimation of a binary choice model with random coefficients of unknown distribution. Journal of Econometrics , 86 (2), 269–295.

ILO (1999). International Labour Standards on Child labour . Retrieved 18 April from https://www.ilo.org/global/standards/subjects-covered-by-international-labour-standards/child-labour/lang--en/index.htm#:~:text=It%20requires%20ratifying%20states%20to,children%20for%20use%20in%20armed

Islam, R., & Hoque, M. M. (2022). Trade-off between schooling and labor for children: Understanding the determinative factors among rural households in Bangladesh [Original Research]. Frontiers in Sociology , 7 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2022.839231

Ismailov, M., & Ono, Y. (2021). Assignment design and its effects on Japanese college freshmen’s motivation in L2 emergency online courses: A qualitative study. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher , 30 , 263–278.

Jan, A. U. (2021). Role of child labor in agriculture sector of district Mardan (Pakistan): A multinomial logistic regression analysis. Sarhad Journal of Agriculture , 37 (2).

Jayachandran, S. (2021). Social Norms as a barrier to women’s employment in developing countries. IMF Economic Review , 69 (3), 576–595. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41308-021-00140-w

Josenhans, V., Kavenagh, M., Smith, S., & Wekerle, C. (2020). Gender, rights and responsibilities: The need for a global analysis of the sexual exploitation of boys. Child Abuse & Neglect , 110 , 104291.

Kenny, K., & Fotaki, M. (2023). The costs and labour of whistleblowing: Bodily vulnerability and post-disclosure survival. Journal of Business Ethics , 182 (2), 341–364. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-05012-x

Khanam, R. (2010). Child labour and schooling in developing countries: A review of the literature. International Journal of Business Research , 10 (3), 137–142.

Khanam, R., & Rahman, M. M. (2008). Child labour in developing countries: The role of education, poverty and birth order. Journal of Social and Economic Development , 10 (2), 173–195.

Khatab, K., Raheem, M. A., Sartorius, B., & Ismail, M. (2019). Prevalence and risk factors for child labour and violence against children in Egypt using bayesian geospatial modelling with multiple imputation. PLoS ONE , 14(5), e0212715.

Kleven, H., Landais, C., & Søgaard, J. E. (2019). Children and gender inequality: Evidence from Denmark. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics , 11 (4), 181–209.

Larmar, S., Sunuwar, M., Sherpa, H., Joshi, R., & Jordan, L. P. (2021). Strengthening community engagement in Nepal during COVID-19: Community-based training and development to reduce child labour. Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development , 31 (1–2), 23–30.

Lovat, T., & Clement, N. (2008). Quality teaching and values education: Coalescing for effective learning. Journal of Moral Education , 37 (1), 1–16.

Mackinnon, J., Jakob, P., & Kustner, C. (2023). Staff experiences of using non-violent resistance in a residential care home for young people with high-risk behaviours. Journal of Family Therapy , 45 (4), 444–458. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6427.12423

Majeed, M. T., & Kiran, F. (2019). Women’s decision making power and child labor: Evidence from Pakistan. Quality & Quantity , 53 (4), 2175–2197. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-019-00864-y

Makwela, M. M., & Smit, E. I. (2022). Psychosocial challenges of children with disabilities in Sekhukhune District, Limpopo province of South Africa: Towards a responsive integrated disability strategy. African Journal of Disability , 11 , 799.

Middel, F., López López, M., Fluke, J., & Grietens, H. (2022). Racial/ethnic and gender disparities in child protection decision-making: What role do stereotypes play? Child Abuse & Neglect , 127 , 105579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105579

Mladenov, T., & Brennan, C. S. (2021). Social vulnerability and the impact of policy responses to COVID-19 on disabled people. Sociology of Health & Illness , 43 (9), 2049–2065.

Muhammad, M., Shirazi, N. S., & Kayani, Z. (2024). Parental education and child labour: Evidence from Pakistan. International Journal of Education Economics and Development , 15 (1–2), 285–298.

Musizvingoza, R., Blagbrough, J., & Pocock, N. S. (2022). Are child domestic workers worse off than their peers? Comparing children in domestic work, child marriage, and kinship care with biological children of household heads: Evidence from Zimbabwe. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 19 (12), 7405. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7405

Nahal, M. S., Axelsson, Å. B., Imam, A., & Wigert, H. (2019). Palestinian children’s narratives about living with spina bifida: Stigma, vulnerability, and social exclusion. Child: Care Health and Development , 45 (1), 54–62.

Naseem, R., & Bilal, M. (2023). An exploratory study of child labor in Brick Kilns in Sheikhupura District, Punjab, Pakistan: 10.2478/bjlp-2023-00000197. Baltic Journal of Law & Politics , 16 (3), 2645–2667.

Ng, I. Y. H., Tan, J. Q., Mathew, M., Ho, K. W., & Ting, Y. T. (2023). The importance of considering debt and young children in activation: A survival analysis of Return to Welfare. Social Policy and Society , 22 (2), 299–314. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746421000518

Nigar, N., & Qayyum, U. (2022). Households’ risk management and coping strategies: How do the poor respond to various idiosyncratic and covariate shocks in Pakistan? Journal of Asian and African Studies , 57 (4), 794–818.

Nordman, C. J., Sharma, S., & Sunder, N. (2022). Here comes the rain again: Productivity shocks, educational investments, and child work. Economic Development and Cultural Change , 70 (3), 1041–1063.

Oberg, C., Hodges, H., Gander, S., Nathawad, R., & Cutts, D. (2022). The impact of COVID-19 on children’s lives in the United States: Amplified inequities and a just path to recovery. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health care , 52 (7), 101181.

Ocran, J. (2022). There is something like a barrier: Disability stigma, structural discrimination and middle-class persons with disability in Ghana. Cogent Social Sciences , 8 (1), 2084893.

Ofuoku, A. U., Idoge, D. E., & Ovwigho, B. O. (2014). Child labor in agricultural production and socioeconomic variables among arable farming households in Nigeria. Journal of Rural Social Sciences , 29 (2), 4.

Pengpid, S., & Peltzer, K. (2020). Prevalence and associated factors of child abuse and child labour among children in Iraq: Results of the 2018 multiple Indicator Cluster Survey. International Journal of Child & Adolescent Health , 13 (1).

Perera, C., Bakrania, S., Ipince, A., Nesbitt-Ahmed, Z., Obasola, O., Richardson, D., Van de Scheur, J., & Yu, R. (2022). Impact of social protection on gender equality in low‐and middle‐income countries: A systematic review of reviews. Campbell Systematic Reviews , 18 (2), e1240.

Pierik, R., & Houwerzijl, M. (2006). Western policies on child labor abroad. Ethics & International Affairs , 20 (2), 193–218.

Psaki, S., Haberland, N., Mensch, B., Woyczynski, L., & Chuang, E. (2022). Policies and interventions to remove gender-related barriers to girls’ school participation and learning in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of the evidence. Campbell Systematic Reviews , 18 (1), e1207. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1207

Quattri, M., & Watkins, K. (2019). Child labour and education– a survey of slum settlements in Dhaka (Bangladesh). World Development Perspectives , 13 , 50–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2019.02.005

Radfar, A., Asgharzadeh, S. A. A., Quesada, F., & Filip, I. (2018). Challenges and perspectives of child labor. Industrial Psychiatry Journal , 27 (1), 17.

Raman, S., Muhammad, T., Goldhagen, J., Seth, R., Kadir, A., Bennett, S., D’Annunzio, D., Spencer, N. J., Bhutta, Z. A., & Gerbaka, B. (2021). Ending violence against children: What can global agencies do in partnership? Child Abuse & Neglect , 119 , 104733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104733

Ramaswamy, S., & Seshadri, S. (2020). Children on the brink: Risks for child protection, sexual abuse, and related mental health problems in the COVID-19 pandemic. Indian Journal of Psychiatry , 62 (Suppl 3), S404-s413. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_1032_20

Ray, R. (2000). Analysis of child labour in Peru and Pakistan: A comparative study. Journal of Population Economics , 13 (1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001480050119

Rehman, L., & Khan, F. (2021). An analysis of out of schoolchildren factors: A case study of Pakistan. Journal of Social Transformation and Education , 2 (1), 10–25.

Sabates-Wheeler, R., & Sumberg, J. (2022). Breaking out of the policy enclave approach to child labour in sub-saharan African agriculture. Global Social Policy , 22 (1), 46–66.

Santos, É. S., & Colagrossi, A. L. R. (2024). Unveiling the psychological dimensions of child labor. In Children Around the World: The Future of Our Earth (pp. 135). https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=lWABEQAAQBAJ

Sarker, M. R. (2021). Labor market and unpaid works implications of COVID-19 for Bangladeshi women. Gender Work & Organization , 28 (S2), 597–604. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12587

Shohel, M. M. C. (2022). Education in emergencies: Challenges of providing education for Rohingya children living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Education Inquiry , 13 (1), 104–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2020.1823121

Sovacool, B. K. (2021). When subterranean slavery supports sustainability transitions? Power, patriarchy, and child labor in artisanal Congolese cobalt mining. The Extractive Industries and Society , 8 (1), 271–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2020.11.018

Steele, L. (2023). Ending disability segregated employment:‘modern slavery’law and disabled people’s human right to work. International Journal of Law in Context , 19 (2), 217–235.

Sultana, M., & ILO Country Office for Pakistan. (2021). Pakistan’s journey towards elimination of child labour: a timeline . https://policycommons.net/artifacts/1815140/pakistans-journey-towards-elimination-of-child-labour/

Tang, C., Zhao, L., & Zhao, Z. (2020). Does free education help combat child labor? The effect of a free compulsory education reform in rural China. Journal of Population Economics , 33 (2), 601–631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-019-00741-w

Tarleton, B., & Turney, D. (2020). Understanding ‘Successful Practice/s’ with parents with learning difficulties when there are concerns about child neglect: The contribution of social practice theory. Child Indicators Research , 13 (2), 387–409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-019-09682-y

Thi, A. M., Zimmerman, C., & Ranganathan, M. (2023). Hazardous child labour, psychosocial functioning, and school dropouts among children in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional analysis of UNICEF’s multiple Indicator Cluster surveys (MICS). Children , 10 (6), 1021. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/6/1021

Tusińska, M. (2020). Inequality of opportunity–gender bias in education in Pakistan. Nierówności społeczne a Wzrost Gospodarczy , 63 , 233–245.

UNICEF (2017–2020). Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) . https://mics.unicef.org/surveys

United Nations (2023). 2023 Theme: Social Justice for All. End Child Labour! https://www.un.org/en/observances/world-day-against-child-labour

Winzer, M., & Mazurek, K. (2019). UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. A critique of article 24 of the CRPD: Precedents, polarized paradigms, flawed contingencies. World Studies in Education , 20 (2), 5–22.

Woodhead, M. (1999). Combatting child labour: Listen to what the children say. Childhood , 6 (1), 27–49.

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the support from the Deanship of Scientific Research under the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSPD2024R997), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

No Funding.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Economics, National College of Business Administration & Economics, Lahore, Pakistan

Shahla Akram

Department of Economics, College of Business Administration, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, P.O. Box 7115, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Mehboob Ul Hassan

College of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, People’s Republic of China

Muhammad Farrukh Shahzad

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shahla Akram .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval.

I affirm ethical research, using public data, ensuring privacy, and providing unbiased insights for the Journal. 

Permission to Reproduce Material from other Sources

Conflict of interest, additional information, publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Akram, S., Hassan, M.U. & Shahzad, M.F. Factors Fuelling the Persistence of Child Labour: Evidence from Pakistan. Child Ind Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-024-10141-6

Download citation

Accepted : 10 May 2024

Published : 16 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-024-10141-6

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Child disabilities
• Socioeconomic factors
• Child nonviolent
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

Suburbanization Problems in the USSR : the Case of Moscow

• Référence bibliographique

Gornostayeva Galina A. Suburbanization Problems in the USSR : the Case of Moscow . In: Espace, populations, sociétés , 1991-2. Les franges périurbaines Peri-urban fringes. pp. 349-357.

DOI : https://doi.org/10.3406/espos.1991.1474

www.persee.fr/doc/espos_0755-7809_1991_num_9_2_1474

• RIS (ProCite, Endnote, ...)

Résumé (fre)

La suburbanisation n'existe pas en URSS au sens des phénomènes décrits dans les villes occidentales. Cependant on observe certains transferts limités d'activités industrielles exigeantes en espace ou polluantes, voire même de centres de recherches, vers les zones suburbaines ou des villes-satellites. Mais ces déconcentrations répondent à une logique de planification administrative. En outre, les Moscovites hésitent à aller habiter dans ces centres d'emploi, de crainte de perdre les privilèges liés à l'autorisation d'habiter Moscou (la propiska) et du fait des communications insuffisantes avec la capitale. Le taux de croissance de la population moscovite reste supérieur à celui du reste de l'oblast. Par contre le développement de datchas de seconde résidence est très important dans l'oblast de Moscou, en particulier aux alentours des stations de chemin de fer. L'abolition du système de propiska pourrait transformer les datchas les plus proches de Moscou en résidences principales.

Résumé (eng)

The suburbanisation does not exist as such in the USSR with the meaning one has of the phenomena in Western cities. Though one may notice some limited transfers of industrial activities demanding a lot of space or polluting ones, even research centres, towards the suburban areas or satellite-towns. But these déconcentrations correspond to an administrative planification logics. Moreover the Muscovites hesitate before going and living in these employment centres, because they are afraid of loosing the privileges linked with the authorisation to live in Moscow (the propiska) and because of insufficient communications with the capital. The growth rate of the Muscovite population remains higher than this of the remainder of the oblast. To the contrary developing of datchas for second residences is very high in the Moscow oblast, especially in the vicinity of a railway station. The abolishment of the «propiska» system might transform the datchas nearer to Moscow into main residences.

• Economic structure [link]
• Suburbanization of activities [link]
• Suburbanization of population [link]
• Conclusions [link]
• Literature [link]

Liste des illustrations

• Table 1. Employment structure, % [link]
• Table 2. Annual rate of population increase, % [link]
• Fig. 1. Spatial distribution of country-cottages and gardening associations in the Moscow region [link]

Texte intégral

Galina A. GORNOSTAYEVA

Moscow University

Suburbanization Problems

in the USSR :

the Case of Moscow

Suburbanization processes typical to cities in Western Europe, the USA and other countries are not observed in the USSR or they are distorted to such an extent that they may not be compared with existing standards. This states the question how Soviet cities-succeeded in escaping this stage of urban development. In order to answer this question, we should first summarize the main aspects of Western suburbanization.

Firstly, it is well known that the urbanization processes are linked to structural changes in the economy. Thus the transition from the stage of concentration to this of suburbanization is associated with industrialization, and the transition to the third stage - déconcentration - is related with the rapid growth of employment in the non-industrial sphere. Secondly, a suburbanization of economic activities can be distinguished. It applies in the first place to the building and iron- working industry, transports, engineering and chemical works. These are polluting and requiring extensive areas. This suburbanization of industry is caused by the following factors: rising demand for land from firms ; worsening of transport

tions in the inner cities ; demand for lower land costs and taxation levels in suburbs ; rapid growth of road transports; state policies regulating the growth of large cities ; migration of the labour force to the suburban zones. Scientific and educational activities are also transferred from the centre to the suburbs.

The third important aspect of suburbanization applies to the population. In the suburbs two opposite flows of population meet ; one is centripetal, coming from non- metropolitan regions, the other is centrifugal, coming from the central city. The reasons for the migration to the suburbs are as follows : declining living standards in large cities (overcrowding, slow housing renewal, environmental problems, etc.); growth of motorization of the population, development of communications (telephone, telex, fax, computer) ; intensifying decentralization of working places ; lower land prices in the suburbs ; state support for the intensification of real estate development in the suburbs. The above-mentioned factors and reasons for suburbanization are altered in the Soviet cities. Let us explore them, by taking for example the largest one - Moscow.

Economic structure

The employment structure in the USSR reveals sharp differences from those in developed urbanized countries. The USSR is characterized by a high share of employment in agriculture, industry, construction and a low share in the non-industrial sphere (tab. 1).

A correlation analysis of the percentage of urban population and employment in the different spheres of economic activity reveals that the share of urban population in the USSR is higher than in countries with the same percentage of persons employed in agriculture.

TABLE 1. EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE,

Source: personal calculations.

The urbanization processes in the Moscow Capital Region (MCR) are more intensive than in other regions of the USSR. Structural changes are more obvious here : the share of employment in the non-industrial sphere increases more substantially and the percentage of persons employed in industry and agriculture is lower than in the whole country. However the MCR cannot therefore be compared with a metropolitan region in a Western country. Although Moscow is the most advanced agglomeration in the USSR, it lags is far behind the major world cities in terms of development and it is at the very start of the post- industrial stage of its structural and urban transformation.

The structural «anomaly» of the USSR as a whole and of the MCR in particular is explained by the enforced process of industrialization (starting from the thirties) at the expense of the peasantry (thus, there is not only a booming industrial employment in cities, but also worsening living and working conditions in villages and forced collectivization having triggered off the massive rural emigration). As a result, the share of urban population in the USSR is higher than expected, based on changes in the economic structure. While urbanization in the developed countries was due, among

other causes, to an increasing labour efficiency in agriculture, this remained quite low in the USSR. Therefore the employment share in agriculture is overstated in comparison with countries with a similar percentage of urban population, and even this considerable part of the labour force is unable to feed the whole population of the country.

The share of agricultural employment in the mcr increased from 7,4 % to 7,6 °7o between 1980 and 1985 (as a result of Moscow attractiveness and the better living standards in its surrounding villages), whereas it continued to decline in other parts of the Central region. The population growth in villages adjacent to Moscow is especially intensive, though labour efficiency in localities near Moscow is higher than in the other oblasts. In spite of this, Moscow oblast provides only 61 % of milk, 34 °/o of potatoes, 45 % of vegetables and 23 % of meat needed by the population in Moscow city and oblast (Argumen- ty i facty, 1988, N50, p. 3). The structural anomaly is not only related to processes in agricultural sphere but also in industrial sector. As a result of the low economic mobility of socialist firms and of the absence of market relations, the industrial development was extensive,

without significant increases of the labour

productivity.

Thus the employment transfer from the

agricultural to the industrial sector, their

extensive development and their low labour

productivity are intrinsically related with the political definition of productiorfrela- tions and course of structural economic transformation.

Suburbanization of activities

Moscow and Moscow oblast show divergent economic structures and changes (tab. 1). In Moscow the employment share in the non-industrial sphere in Moscow is growing more rapidly, whereas the share of industrial employment is decreasing. In Moscow oblast the part of transport and communication infrastructure, retail trade, administration, housing (presently less developed than in Moscow) is increasing. Some stages in the transformation of activities in the mcr's settlements may be pointed out here. The stage of industrialization and reconstruction after World War II is characterized by the swift industrial development and the active restructuration of the Moscow and Moscow oblast economy. New industries have been built (motor-car and aircraft assembly, machine-tool industry, organic synthesis, etc.), around Moscow research and production potential. Nevertheless, this restructuration is extensive, since traditional industries don't curtail production. It favours the heavy concentration of modern functions in Moscow. There is no transfer of firms outside Moscow. Suburbanization of industrial activities did not occur because of the state owning the means of production and of thé socialist form of production relations. When research and technological progress are slowing down, these firms become inefficient and spatially immobile. The period 1956-1970 is marked by an intensive development of the region scientific sphere and by the rise of « satellite » urban policy. The new centres were specialized in modern branches of machinery and research-engineering activities and were undoubtedly very attractive for the population. Therefore towns like Dubna were growing rapidly. While the aim was to redirect part of Moscow population

growth, they display a quite specific relation with the capital. For instance, Muscovites working in Pushchino cannot reach their job every day because they lack transport facilities. Nevertheless, they don't wish to move and register their passports in the city in which they actually work, since they would have to give up their Moscow registration and then lose all Moscow privileges (see further). These new centres are isolated from information sources in Moscow. Poor telephone communications, lack of computers and telex systems hamper contacts and teamwork with colleagues in the city. It seems that material resources for experimental work in research centres are not sufficient to compensate for lack of information and communications. At the same time, poor transport links with Moscow and the other towns of Moscow oblast isolate the scientists from the higher standard of culture in the centre and from a well developed social infrastructure. An original home-work relation can be observed in Dubna: the Muscovites get the second registration of passports and live there in hostel apartments during 4 or 5 working days, during the weekends they go back to Moscow, where their families are living. The change of functions in Moscow oblast towns is still going on. Inside the towns of the first circle adjacent to Moscow, the share of employment in the non-industrial sectors and transport is growing. Inside the towns of the second circle (suburban zone) these changes lead to an increasing potential of non-industrial, industrial and construction functions. Finally, in the outlying parts of the region the further grovth of construction and industrial functions is observed and the organization potential is intensifying in some towns. The mcr towns display a crawling concen-

tration of the regional most important functions and their extension outside the boundaries of Moscow to the towns of the suburban zone. But the déconcentration of functions in the mcr is not only of natural- economic character. It also results from the state urban policy. Déconcentration is not related to the search for more advantageous sites for firms and institutions as regards to economic or social relations (the availability of cheaper labour force or more comfortable living conditions, etc.), nor is it sustained by the expansion of transport and communication facilities. Thus, this déconcentration is independent from curtailment of any function in central Moscow, whose potential is still growing, and it is also completely inadequate regarding the continuing concentration of population (see below). All this, together with the slow economic and territorial mobility of firms, is an obstacle to the economic restructuration of the region, and to the reorientation of Moscow and its suburbs to non-industrial activities and to progressive scientific and informational work. The mass labour-consuming functions still remain in Moscow and its suburbs, but they are inevitably cut off from modern types of activities.

The idea of alleviating Moscow's development appeared from the very beginning of its rapid growth, since the excessive concentration of population and employment led (as in the other major world cities) to environmental discomfort, worsening of transport, strip-holding of land and other congestion signs. In market economies, the firms react to alterations of economic or social conditions by their mobility: some

of them close, other relocate in more convenient places. In the USSR, the problem of firm transfer (unhealthy or unprofitable firms) becomes unsolvable because of the special type of production relations. Economic and territorial passivity of firms is apparent in the difficulties of erecting industrial buildings and dismantling machinery and equipment, in the low turnover of the means of production. The same problem exist regarding the labour force. Firms transferred to the suburban towns of Moscow oblast are encountering great difficulties in recruiting staff in sufficient numbers and of required skill. The local labour force is rather weak, while the Moscow workers wouldn't leave the capital to follow their firm, because they are afraid of being deprived of passport registration in Moscow. From the social point of view, giving up a Moscow registration is more significant to people than losing their job. The processes going on in the mcr are therefore not quite comparable with those in the Western world. The market economy is more «lively» and replacement of functions has the character of territorial waves. Some functions disappear while new ones emerge. In the mcr, the waves are replaced by stratification. New functions do not replace the old ones, but joining them. At the same time, this process of relative déconcentration of functions overpass the process of stable concentration of population. In the mcr, the modern branches are gravitated closely to Moscow, where skilled workers are retained by their registration advantages. Suburban towns have to be satisfied with commuters or specialists from the outlying regions of the USSR.

Suburbanization of population

The urbanization structure of the region is characterized by the predominance of its main centre - Moscow. The share of the capital in the total Moscow oblast population was as follows: in 1929 - 44,3 Vo, in 1939 - 51,6 %, in 1959 - 54,9 %, in 1979 -54,5 Vo, in 1985 - 57,3 % (Moscow Capital Region, p. 137.). Within the agglomeration, the share of Moscow is still higher, in 1959 it was 75,5 % and in 1985

- 67,3 % (ibid., p. 141), whereas in the highly developed capital regions of the world the agglomeration counts one half or less of the total population and of the economic potential, the second half being concentrated in the suburbs (Gritsay, p. 71). Moreover, the growth rate of Moscow population is higher than that of Moscow oblast (tab . 2).

TABLE 2. ANNUAL RATE OF POPULATION INCREASE,

Migrations are of great importance to the mcr. The internal migration of rural population to the cities is rather substantial, and the immigration flow from the rest of the USSR is not compensated by the decrease of rural population in the mcr. The nearer a town to Moscow, the larger the migration share in its total population increase.

The dynamics of population in the mcr has a specific character. In agglomerations of the developed countries the principle of the «broken glass» summarizes the suburbanization process. When, for some reasons, the centre loses its attractiveness the urban population moves to suburbs in search of higher living standard. In Moscow agglomeration the principle of the «overfilled glass» is operating. People wanting to live in Moscow cannot enter the city and are forced to settle near it. In Moscow immigration undoubtedly prevails over emigration, confirming the extreme territorial differentiation in conditions, level and way of life. As a rule, commuting is oriented from suburbs to Moscow (600 thousand persons come to Moscow and only 200 thousand leave it), but it accounts only for 12-15 % cf the total employment in Moscow's economy. Moreover, these commuters are not Muscovites but potential new inhabitants of the capital (striving for passport registration and domicile in Moscow).

Moscow became the most attractive place for living and an intensive flow of ruined rural residents as well as residents from other regions of the country were rushing -to Moscow. These processes were generated not only by the inception of the country structural economic transformation,

but also by the policy of special privileges for Moscow. These privileges came into being after the establishment of a centralized distribution system. Such a system involves the assignment of a priority level of foodstuffs and manufactured goods to each territory. Moscow was awarded the highest priority level. From the very beginning, better living standards and higher income for certain population categories were established there. In the thirties the artificial differentiation in living standards was confirmed by imposing restrictions to passport registration in the capital, and also by the division of administrative bodies into Moscow and Moscow oblast authorities. In the period 1925-30 dozens of new large firms were located in Moscow, but housing was insufficient at that time. Therefore, a great number of migrants from every corner of the country came to get a job in Moscow and settled in cottages in the nearby countryside. Soon, these settlements in the nearby countryside. Soon, these settlements turned into urban ones. For example, towns like Mytishchi and Luberstsy developed rapidly, and even Muscovites moved there when the railways were electrified. This was clearly the outset of a suburbanization process, but it stopped as soon as the restrictions on passport registration in Moscow were imposed and the social barrier between Moscow and Moscow oblast was established. In the period 1930-40, new industrial developments were banned from Moscow and firms drawn towards the city were located on the outskirts thus causing a rapid growth of the old and new towns. Although the development of cottages as second residence near Moscow started even before the revolution, since the en-

vironmental degradation of Moscow was practically completed at that time, they became the main resorts of those years. They had flourished in the districts with privileged natural conditions and convenient transport services (not further than 2 km from a railway station). In the period 1930-40, this sprawl of leisure housing carried on - cottage settlements expanded into an entire belt of scattered one- storeyed buildings. But at the same time, urban multi-storeyed housing also increased and after World War II these multi- storeyed buildings were found in the cottage settlements of the leisure zone. In the period 1950-60 a network of gardening associations was established. In those

years the most convenient land near Moscow had already been built on. The gardening plots allotted to the Muscovites were located in the remote parts of the mcr, outside the suburban zone, and very frequently they were on improper territories. Because of their remoteness, the difficulties in cultivation and building, the lack of infrastructure, these plots cannot become effective leisure resorts. More frequently Muscovites use them for fruit and vegetable growing.

The desire of the Muscovites for having a second residence in the suburbs can be interpreted as an unfulfilled suburbanization tendency. This desire has the same, mainly environmental, causes as suburbaniza-

tion in Western countries. The cottages within the reach of Moscow's traffic and having access to appropriate infrastructure and amenities, might become the principal residence of Muscovites if passport registration is abolished. The restrictions of passport registration in Moscow fixed in the thirties were devised as an administrative solution against the effects of Moscow's unique attractiveness and not as a means of eliminating the attractiveness itself. For this reason, Moscow became even more attractive, like a forbidden fruit. The consequences were both the concentration of the upper strata of society in the city and the extensive development of industry, resulting in a growing shortage of unskilled labour.

The shortage of regular workers in Moscow is sometimes explained by the increasing number of working places. An adequate planning of the «limiters» (1) system is then put forward as the solution for controlling the growth of Moscow is found in (Glushkova, 1988, p. 43). To be frank, about twenty industrial units and more than one hundred scientific institutions were already created in the seventies alone, in spite of the industrial building ban in Moscow, only a few firms moved outside the city in return. New industrial units easily find staff, since they offer new machinery, relatively good working conditions and higher wages. New scientific and administrative institutions are in a similar position. But the situation is totally different in the old industrial units, with rundown equipment and a high level of manual tasks. Those units suffer from a staff shortage. Moreover, as in any other city, there is a social mobility in Moscow, in most cases improving - from manual up to mental, from unskilled up to highly skilled work. Furthermore, the prestige of a higher education (university) is overestimated in Moscow, whereas the prestige of the manual professions has declined as a result of the stagnation of reinvestments in industry, the high share of manual labour (40 %), and also favouritism and

crowding in the administrative staffs. The attractiveness of an upper class position is therefore overestimated, and social mobility activated. Since Moscow cannot admit free «immigrants» the lower strata of the social structure are vacant and there appears a shortage of unskilled labour force. The lower strata of the social structure were filled in with « limiters ». Available employment in Moscow was not the cause of an organized immigration flow, but represented the only possible way to register the passport there. Roughly half of these people drawn into Moscow's economy left their jobs. «Limiters» get the right to register their passports in Moscow and take up their residence in new houses when their contract expires. They usually quit their job as soon as possible in search of better working conditions (Glushkova, 1988, p. 42). The nature of unskilled work in Moscow and the associated working conditions are so unattractive that it is nearly impossible to find Muscovites willing to perform them.

The institution of passport registration raised many problems. Thus the « limiters » are recruited in social groups not needing most of the advantages of a large city, their psychology and value system differ sharply from native Muscovites. The direct environment of the hostels where «limiters » live, has a pronounced criminal character. Fictitious marriage in order to register the passport in Moscow has become a widespread practice.

Moscow's environmental problems can hardly be solved as long as passport registration exists. The population is literally locked up within the city boundaries. Notwithstanding the environmental stresses, the Moscow privileges prevent the Muscovites from leaving the city. The urban districts not saturated with harmful industrial units are the most prestigious. The social and economic causes of Moscow's extensive growth reveal that its problems are a reflection of the ones facing the USSR. The concentration of economic, social and management functions in Mos-

cow in Soviet times materializes the strong centralism of the particraty and weighs down on the city's development. Low labour efficiency in agriculture and sheer desolation of villages on the one hand, rapid but extensive industrialisation together with forced increasing social attraction of Moscow, confirmed by the restrictions on passport registration, on the other hand, were the key factors of the mcr's polarization during decades. Together with objective factors found in other large cities of the world, subjective factors related to the Soviet political and economic system influence Moscow's growth.

The objective factors are as follows: the diversity of employment in the capital, the emergence of new types of occupations, the concentration of high-skilled and creative labour, the higher living standards, the large educational and cultural opportunities.

The subjective factors are the higher supply level of foodstuff and manufactured goods different than in other regions (the existence of meat-rationing system in many regions of the country and its absence in Moscow establishes a significant threshold not only in terms of supply but also in the outlook of the population); the lack of communications and individual motorized transport (in the rsfsr one counts 47 cars per 1000 urban inhabitants against 560 in the USA) (Argumenty i facty, 1988, N47, p. 2); the craving for joining the upper social classes and for accessing neighbourhoods with a high quality of life; unjustified promotion of upward social mobility releasing «the ground floors» of Moscow's economy; continued growth of employment due to the extensive economic development and the low economic and territorial mobility of firms. Today, the hierarchy of priorities for selecting a residence within the mcr and the whole country is as follows. Food supply comes first. The supply of manufactured

goods, the opportunities to obtain better and larger living quarters and to accede to a prestigious employment with a wage increase, social promotion, well developed consumer services come next. And only at the end of the scale appears the opportunity to fulfil cultural needs and education. Thus, there is a process of «pseudo- urbanization» characteristic of the Soviet economic and social system, superimposed on the process of «natural» urbanization. By natural urbanization we mean the process related to economic development and to the natural difference between rural and urban ways of life. The specificity, the structural changes and the hierarchy of city functions shape the migration flows conditioned by natural urbanization. «Pseudo-urbanization» points to «the scum» of the process, that may complete the economic and socially conditioned urbanization. The «pseudo-urbanization» is generated by a disproportionate development of the country's economic structure (hypertrophie share of industry; economic and political reforms have triggered off a massive flow of the peasantry towards the cities, related not with the rising but with the lowering of labour efficiency in agriculture, with impoverishment of the countryside and hence with the urge towards the centres of relative well-being), and by the territorial inequalities in standards of living, artificially created and maintained by the institution of passports and registration.

The suburbanization of population cannot be observed in the MCR. The centripetal tendencies mentioned above resulted in rapid growth of Moscow and its suburbs, as well as in some stagnation of its periphery. Thus Moscow agglomeration is now in the first stage of development, the stage of «crawling» concentration where centrifugal forces are very weak. This situation will last as long as the barrier in terms of standards of living exists between Moscow and Moscow oblast.

Conclusions

This study has reaffirmed the general lack of suburbanization in the Soviet cities. Some signs of suburbanization like the

transfer of some activities from Moscow to the suburbs, the concentration of population in towns and villages near the central

city and commuting, differ significantly pie and firms will emancipate, only if the from the Western cities. The process of ur- existing political and economic system in banization will take its normal course, peo- the USSR is dismantled.

Argumenty i facty, 1988, N47, p. 2 Argumenty i facty, 1988, N50, p. 3

GLUSHKOVA V.G. Questions of Interrelated Settlement in Moscow and the Moscow Region, Problems of Geography, vol. 131, Moscow, 1988, pp. 40-56.

GRITSAY O.V. Western Europe : Regional Contrasts at the New Stage of Scientific-Technological Progress, Moscow, 1988, 148 p.

Moscow in Figures. 1980, Moscow, 1981, 220 p. Moscow in Figures. 1985, Moscow, 1986, 240 p.

National Economy of Moscow Oblast. 1981-1985, Moscow, 1986, 271 p.

National Economy of the ussr. 1985, Moscow, 1986, 421 p. Yearbook of Labour Statistics. 1987, Geneva, 1987, 960 p.

Moscow Capital Region: Territorial Structure and Natural Environment, Moscow, 1988, 321 p.

(1) Limiters are unskilled workers, hired in an organised way by Moscow firms; after working there for several years of working they get the right to register

their passports and to take up their residence in Moscow.

• Yekaterinburg
• Novosibirsk
• Vladivostok

• Tours to Russia
• Practicalities
• Russia in Lists

Rusmania • Deep into Russia

Out of the Centre

Savvino-storozhevsky monastery and museum.

Zvenigorod's most famous sight is the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, which was founded in 1398 by the monk Savva from the Troitse-Sergieva Lavra, at the invitation and with the support of Prince Yury Dmitrievich of Zvenigorod. Savva was later canonised as St Sabbas (Savva) of Storozhev. The monastery late flourished under the reign of Tsar Alexis, who chose the monastery as his family church and often went on pilgrimage there and made lots of donations to it. Most of the monastery’s buildings date from this time. The monastery is heavily fortified with thick walls and six towers, the most impressive of which is the Krasny Tower which also serves as the eastern entrance. The monastery was closed in 1918 and only reopened in 1995. In 1998 Patriarch Alexius II took part in a service to return the relics of St Sabbas to the monastery. Today the monastery has the status of a stauropegic monastery, which is second in status to a lavra. In addition to being a working monastery, it also holds the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum.

Belfry and Neighbouring Churches

Located near the main entrance is the monastery's belfry which is perhaps the calling card of the monastery due to its uniqueness. It was built in the 1650s and the St Sergius of Radonezh’s Church was opened on the middle tier in the mid-17th century, although it was originally dedicated to the Trinity. The belfry's 35-tonne Great Bladgovestny Bell fell in 1941 and was only restored and returned in 2003. Attached to the belfry is a large refectory and the Transfiguration Church, both of which were built on the orders of Tsar Alexis in the 1650s.  

To the left of the belfry is another, smaller, refectory which is attached to the Trinity Gate-Church, which was also constructed in the 1650s on the orders of Tsar Alexis who made it his own family church. The church is elaborately decorated with colourful trims and underneath the archway is a beautiful 19th century fresco.

Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral

The Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral is the oldest building in the monastery and among the oldest buildings in the Moscow Region. It was built between 1404 and 1405 during the lifetime of St Sabbas and using the funds of Prince Yury of Zvenigorod. The white-stone cathedral is a standard four-pillar design with a single golden dome. After the death of St Sabbas he was interred in the cathedral and a new altar dedicated to him was added.

Under the reign of Tsar Alexis the cathedral was decorated with frescoes by Stepan Ryazanets, some of which remain today. Tsar Alexis also presented the cathedral with a five-tier iconostasis, the top row of icons have been preserved.

Tsaritsa's Chambers

The Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral is located between the Tsaritsa's Chambers of the left and the Palace of Tsar Alexis on the right. The Tsaritsa's Chambers were built in the mid-17th century for the wife of Tsar Alexey - Tsaritsa Maria Ilinichna Miloskavskaya. The design of the building is influenced by the ancient Russian architectural style. Is prettier than the Tsar's chambers opposite, being red in colour with elaborately decorated window frames and entrance.

At present the Tsaritsa's Chambers houses the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum. Among its displays is an accurate recreation of the interior of a noble lady's chambers including furniture, decorations and a decorated tiled oven, and an exhibition on the history of Zvenigorod and the monastery.

Palace of Tsar Alexis

The Palace of Tsar Alexis was built in the 1650s and is now one of the best surviving examples of non-religious architecture of that era. It was built especially for Tsar Alexis who often visited the monastery on religious pilgrimages. Its most striking feature is its pretty row of nine chimney spouts which resemble towers.

Plan your next trip to Russia

Ready-to-book tours.

Your holiday in Russia starts here. Choose and book your tour to Russia.

REQUEST A CUSTOMISED TRIP

Looking for something unique? Create the trip of your dreams with the help of our experts.