Peer-reviewed article
A sociological study of patterns and determinants of child labour in India
Barsa Priyadarsinee Sahoo ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This sociological study examines patterns and causes of child labour in India using national census and employment survey data. The research finds that poverty alone does not explain child labour; gender and caste are also significant factors. Boys more often engage in paid economic work, while girls are more likely to do unpaid household activities. Children from lower-caste backgrounds participate more in the labour market.
Key points
- Poverty is not the only determinant of child labour in India
- Caste is a significant factor, with children from lower-caste backgrounds participating more in the labour market
- Gender differences exist: boys engage more in economic activities and paid jobs, girls in household activities
- Study uses Census of India and NSSO 66th round data (2009-2010) on employment and unemployment
Limitations
The study is based on secondary data and cross-sectional analysis, so it cannot establish causal mechanisms or show how child labour changes over time. The analysis does not explore the specific mechanisms through which caste and gender shape labour participation or distinguish between different forms of child labour.
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the patterns and incidence of child labour in India and to examine the magnitude of child labour across different social groups. It analyses the impact of the socio-economic background of the children on their participation in the labour market. Design/methodology/approach The paper primarily relies on the data collected from secondary sources. The census of India data and the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) 66th round data (2009–2010) on employment and unemployment in India for the study. The dependent variable on child labour has been computed by the author for the analysis in the paper. Findings The findings of the paper suggest that poverty is not the only determinant of child labour, but gender and caste of a person is also a significant factor for child labour. The study found that children from lower-caste backgrounds in India seem to participate more in the labour market. In terms of gender, the study found that boys are more likely to engage in economic activities or paid jobs while girls are more likely to engage in household activities. Originality/value Data used in this paper has been extracted by the author from unit level data provided by NSSO. The variables used for the analysis in the presented paper has been constructed by the author and the figures provided are the result of the author’s estimation on data.