Child Labor and the Urban Third World

ABSTRACTThis article examines the ways in which the problem of child labour has been perceived and addressed, from the beginnings of social concern about these issues until the present, with illustrations from The Netherlands and Indonesia. National and international responses to the problem of child labour reflect a number of assumptions which are almost completely at odds with the views and the preferences of children themselves. Paradoxically, powerful lobbies in some of the world's wealthiest countries – which cannot enforce, and in some cases are beginning to relax, their own child labour laws – are trying to insist that the developing countries tighten and/or enforce their laws, under the threat of various forms of sanction or boycott. These increasingly active threats make it highly inadvisable for any exporting country to acknowledge the existence of children's employment at all, for example by protective legislation or other efforts to promote the improvement of children's working conditions.

This paper examines the issue of global child labor. The treatment is grounded in the classical economics of Adam smith and the more recent writings of human capital theorists. Using this framework, the universal problem of child labor in newly industrializing countries is investigated. Child labor is placed in its historical context with a brief review of practices in the United States and Great Britain at the time those countries were industrializing. Then, child labor is examined in its contemporary global context. We argue that, as countries industrialize, they tend to follow predictable patterns of development – including use of and eventual abandonment of child labor. We argue that this convergence under the logic of industrial capitalism supports a universalist approach to human rights (that would condemn child labor) over a more tolerant cultural relativist approach.

Objectives: Child labor is a problem that needs attention especially in developing countries The pandemic of Covid-19 has given it a spurt. Previously conducted studies on child labor remained focused on existence, causes and magnitude of this universal dilemma. Several measures at national and international level have been taken to eradicate it but could not get succeed fully. There is a need to explore the experiences and problems of working children from which they use to pass through. The needs of working children should get highlighted so that some suitable measures can be taken to make the condition better. However, this research is aimed to exploring psychological, physical, social, workplace, familial needs and problems faced by child labor further to find out some feasible alternative solutions. Design of the Study: Qualitative design and thematic analysis was used to compile results. Place and Duration: Working children in field were interviewed from two cities of Punjab Pakistan Multan and Jhung respectively from May 2022 to July 2022. Sample and Method: Total 19 working children including two girls under the age limit of 16 have interviewed from different workplaces as workshops, hospital, hotel and tea stall. Purposive sampling technique was used to include participants. Semi structured interviews have conducted with participant’s consent. Results and Conclusion: Data has been analyzed through method of thematic analysis. Eight super themes have been derived namely “Covid closure, low income cause of work and children’s will”, “Personal needs, beating, and poverty creates sadness”, “Face familial health problems, family disputes and financial problems”, “Scolding and beating at workplace and from general people”, “We are okay as we are, have no other solutions except Allah or hard work”, “Like study but need financial support and teacher’s good behavior in school and awareness”, “Work adjustment with time, social examples and personal experiences forms concepts about education job and work”, “Earning, exposure, supportive behavior of family and work master creates happiness and develops a sense of responsibility” from the gathered data. The present study highlights the experiences, needs and problems of child labor.

ABSTRACTThe problem of child labor is worse in Myanmar than nearly anywhere else in the world. Moreover, unlike in many other countries where this practice occurs, in Myanmar, child labor is conducted openly and is widely socially accepted. While one of the driving factors behind the practice is, unsurprisingly, poverty, here I will demonstrate that other reasons contribute as well. Drawing on my own field research interviews conducted in December 2017, as well as philosophical analysis, I show that these reasons include, in addition to poverty, poor quality of public education, deeply rooted, strategic injustice in the form of an unfair matriculation exam, and gender inequity in the job market. By wedding theoretical inquiry with empirical investigation, I aim to both explicate the problem and to propose potential solutions.

Does child labour increase unemployment and reduce labour force participation? Empirical evidence from Jordan

Linking Child Labour with International Trade: Recent Developments and their Implications

The problem of child labour is pernicious which has not only affected the developing countries but has whipsawed the developed countries as well. India has introduced ample of legislations and policies but it has been lacking in its enforcements whereas America does not have enough laws to address the issues of child labour. Despite the fact, both the countries with their endeavour have seen reduction in cases of child labour but even then, the problem seems to persist involving children in hazardous work. Therefore, in order to obviate child labour both countries need a balanced combination of legislations and their implementation to remove this evil from our society.

MotivationForest tenure security plays a critical role in improving the livelihoods of those who live in and around forests and simultaneously contribute to forest conservation. Governments around the world have tried to strengthen tenure through titling programmes. Little is known about how forest titling contributes in practice to tenure security and how it affects local investment in forest management.PurposeThis research aims to understand the legal, practical, and perceptual dimensions of forest tenure (in)security after the titling programme; and to examine causal paths from tenure (in)security to local investment in forest management.Approach and methodsTaking Southwest China as an example, the article uses mixed methods to integrate qualitative and quantitative perspectives. Quantitative data were collected using a standardized questionnaire from 410 selected households. Qualitative data were gathered through in‐depth interviews with 45 key informants, including forest officials, village heads, elders, women, and local forest rangers. Nine focus group interviews were set up to learn about local perspectives on collective forest tenure reform and perceived tenure (in)security.FindingsAlthough legal tenure security has been improved by forest titling, both practical and perceived tenure insecurity continue to exist.Titling in the three sites varied between collective and individual titles, and by the degree to which either category had been certified. Context played a crucial role; for example, areas where farmers had planted rubber trees were more likely to have individual titles. In some cases, forest lands remained under dispute and were not certified.Although legal tenure security has been improved by forest titling, in practice, rights to harvest timber and other forest products were restricted by regulations that undermined tenure security. Again, the degree of restriction varies according to local context.Tenure insecurity also arose from the uncertainty of the duration of rights holding, as legal durations and local perceptions of duration diverged.Tenure security did not necessarily encourage investment in the management of forests; local context mattered more than tenure.Policy implicationsCentral government needs to pay more attention to local variation to understand practical and perceived tenure security. Decentralization to empower local decision‐making can help. Central government should also consider removal of the timber quotas to improve tenure security and stimulate local forest management. Additionally, the government and the international community should investigate the multidimensionality of forest tenure security, considering both local biophysical and socioeconomic conditions.

Currently in Indonesia child labor is not a new issue because in almost all regions in Indonesia there are still many underage children working. but not in accordance with the regulations that have been made by the government, labor issues and child labor are problems that need serious attention, regulation and supervision from the government. This study aims to analyze the considerations that must be made by the government in overcoming the problem of child labor. The problems studied in this study are about how the form of government supervision of child labor and government supervision procedures for child labor. so that how the function of government supervision of child labor and how the government's responsibility for this and has the aim of examining and analyzing how government policies in protecting child labor are in accordance with the supervisory function, what factors influence the government's responsibility to increase efforts to protect child labor.The method used in analyzing and discussing the problem of Government Supervision of Child Labor is Normative Juridical. This type of research is descriptive-analytical, the sources of legal materials used are primary legal materials and secondary legal materials. research techniques are carried out through literature review followed by descriptive analysis using qualitative methods.The results show that the government has an important responsibility to protect child labor. What the government must consider is ensuring that there is effective supervision to protect child labor. The government also needs to implement clear policies and regulations to protect child labor. This includes developing regulations that provide protection and limit child laborers' access to hazardous industries, as well as providing protection and access to education and health..

Despite popular belief, the problem of illegal child labor has not been remedied. The practice persists in the United States and even appears to be increasing. Levine, an acknowledged expert in the field, reveals the nature and magnitude of this old problem in today's economy. Levine explains that since 1981, there has been a relaxation in enforcement of federal child labor law provisions. He presents the complicated elements and troubling implications of a problem that has come to be ignored or overlooked in American society, focusing especially on matters of occupational health and safety. This book is important reading for the general public, as well as for scholars and policymakers involved with children's and labor issues in the United States. The United States has more of its children in the workforce than any other developed country. They are found in textile, jewelry, and machine shops in New York and New Jersey, in Southeast supermarkets operating meat-cutting machines and paper-box bailers, in Washington state selling candy door-to-door, and in farming operations throughout the country.

Is Temporary Emigration of Unskilled Workers a Solution to the Child Labor Problem?

A large number of children in India still work under highly exploitative working conditions. In spite of magnificent efforts, the problem of child labor has compounded into more complex issues intertwined with child trafficking, forced labor, missing children, and many other worst forms of childhood struggles. There is a general postulation that in reality the rehabilitation measures are not so effective. The phenomenon of the recycling of child labor divulges that the rescued children again join the workforce after a small gap either at the same place in the same city or at different places in different cities. The paper is aimed to study the realities of rehabilitation in order to understand intertwined issues relating to rehabilitation of rescued children from worksites as well as the present state of affairs. The paper has specifically explored the process of rescue challenges, the mechanisms devised and implemented for rehabilitation of these children, and the effectiveness of initiatives intended for reintegrating rescued children in societal mainstream. It discovered that the realities of rehabilitation are quite painful and a sad commentary on our efforts of rehabilitation. The compensation, back wages, or rehabilitation money has passes through different layers before reaching the rescued child. Once received, it is generally used for different purposes –such as buying animals, construction/repair of house, daughter’s marriage, and repaying to contractor who provided the employment. In some cases, cut/convenience money is also paid to the person responsible for releasing compensation. The time frame for receiving compensation/rehabilitation money varies from 6 to 36 months. As an estimate, approximately one-fifth of the rescued children never join school after rehabilitation because of poor economic conditions of their families, and many drop out to rejoining workforce. The paper has also explored various gaps in their rehabilitation and suggested recommendations for more efficient, effective, and efficacious rehabilitation of children freed from worksites.

In biodiversity rich agriculture–forest moasic landscapes in south-western Ethiopia, the production of coffee and food crops, including guarding them from forest-dwelling mammals, requires a high input of labour, which is supplied partly by children. Through field observations and interviews with smallholders, we studied the extent of children’s participation in coffee production and food crop guarding, its impact on school attendance and implications for sustainable development. The findings revealed that the extent of children’s participation in such work is correlated with the level of household’s income and residential location, i.e. near versus far from forests or in coffee versus non-coffee areas. Child labour and school absenteeism linked to coffee production and crop guarding are widespread problems. Some of the measures taken to mitigate the problem of school absenteeism were coercive and posed threats to poor households. The paper concludes that child work in coffee production and crop protection is at the cost of school attendance for many children, which represents a critical social justice issue and a trade-off with the economic and environmental values of the forest. Reducing poverty would likely mitigate the problem of child labour and school absenteeism and promote synergistic development in the region.

This article considers a competitive general equilibrium model of a small, open less developed economy which exports products using child labour, the supply of which varies inversely with the rate of unemployment in the adult labour market. The effects of policies such as trade sanctions and the subsidisation or protection of adult labour are analysed. It is suggested that the former may actually aggravate the child labour problem, if the unemployment effect dominates the wage effect. On the other hand, theoretical analysis indicates that trade and fiscal policies influencing the effective producers' price of the products of adult labour might be a more effective approach to the problem.

A hard knock life