Understanding Child Labor in Ghana Beyond Poverty : The Structure of the Economy, Social Norms, and No Returns to Rural Basic Education
One in six children age 6-14 are engaged
in labor activities in Ghana, with child employment being
the leading alternative to schooling. By exploring
structural, institutional, geographic, monetary,
demographic, and cultural factors affecting household
decisions about child labor, the paper's main purpose
is to identify the conditions and characteristics of working
children, the root causes of their vulnerability, and thus
help to inform decision-makers and actors who draft and
implement public policy of possible ways to tackle child
labor in Ghana. The paper empirically assesses the effects
of individual, household, community, regional, and national
factors on child labor simultaneously. Findings from the
analysis indicate that the underlying causes of child labor
vary from factors as widespread in their influence as the
structure of the economy (which is largely shaped by family
farming), demographics and relevant social norms to those as
specific in their manifestation as the geographic isolation
of particular groups in the North, a lack of higher returns
to schooling up to the basic education level in rural areas,
and the low priority and capacity to enforce anti-child
labor laws. In addition, an interview conducted with the
Minister of Education as well as interviews with Ghanaian
children help identify specific interdependencies between
child labor and schooling and highlight the societal and
economic demand for children to be working. Finally, after
identifying which constraints and enabling factors are most
important, the paper outlines policy and reform approaches
to tackle child labor in Ghana.
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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: |
Krauss, Alexander |
Format: | Policy Research Working Paper
biblioteca
|
Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2013-06
|
Subjects: | ACCOUNT,
ADULT LITERACY,
ADULT LITERACY PROGRAMS,
ADULTS,
AGE GROUPS,
BASIC EDUCATION,
BASIC EDUCATION LEVEL,
BASIC SCHOOLING,
BASIC SCHOOLS,
CHILD LABOR,
CHILD LABOR LAWS,
CHILD LABOR LEGISLATION,
CHILD LABOUR,
CHILD TRAFFICKING,
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT,
COMMUNITY SCHOOL,
COMPARATIVE EDUCATION,
COMPLETION RATES,
CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD,
EDUCATION AUTHORITIES,
EDUCATION EXPENDITURE,
EDUCATION MANAGEMENT,
EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES,
EDUCATION PLANNERS,
EDUCATIONAL COSTS,
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES,
EDUCATIONAL POLICIES,
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES,
ENROLMENT GROWTH,
ETHICS,
FOOD INSECURITY,
FREE BASIC EDUCATION,
GIRLS,
HIGHER LEVELS OF EDUCATION,
HUMAN RIGHTS,
INTERVENTIONS,
LEARNING,
LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT,
LEGISLATION,
LEVEL OF EDUCATION,
LITERACY PROGRAMS,
LIVING CONDITIONS,
LIVING STANDARDS,
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM,
MIDDLE SCHOOL,
MINORS,
OLDER CHILDREN,
OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN,
PARENTAL EDUCATION,
PARENTS,
PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN,
PARTICIPATION RATES,
POOR CHILDREN,
PRIMARY DATA,
PRIMARY EDUCATION,
PRIMARY SCHOOL,
PRIMARY SCHOOLS,
PRIMARY STUDENT,
PRIMARY STUDENTS,
PRIVATE SCHOOL,
PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS,
PUBLIC EXPENDITURE,
REGISTRATION FEES,
RETURNS TO EDUCATION,
RIGHT OF THE CHILD,
RURAL AREAS,
RURAL BASIC EDUCATION,
RURAL VILLAGE,
SCHOOL AGE,
SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN,
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE,
SCHOOL CALENDAR,
SCHOOL CALENDARS,
SCHOOL CONTEXTS,
SCHOOL COSTS,
SCHOOL ENROLMENT,
SCHOOL EXPENDITURE,
SCHOOL FEEDING,
SCHOOL FEES,
SCHOOL HOURS,
SCHOOL LOCATION,
SCHOOL PARTICIPATION,
SCHOOL SUPPLIES,
SCHOOL SUPPLY,
SCHOOL UNIFORMS,
SCHOOL YEAR,
SCHOOLING,
SECONDARY SCHOOL,
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT,
SOCIAL PROTECTION,
SOCIAL SERVICES,
SOCIAL WELFARE,
STREET CHILDREN,
TEACHER,
TEACHER SALARIES,
TEACHERS,
TEXTBOOKS,
UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION,
WAGES,
WORKING CHILDREN,
YOUTH,
poverty,
agriculture, |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/06/17933910/understanding-child-labor-ghana-beyond-poverty-structure-economy-social-norms-no-returns-rural-basic-education
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15872
|
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