Peer-reviewed article

The Trade-off between Child Labour and Schooling in Pakistan

Farah Gul, Hamid Hasan, Malik Muhammad · 30 Jun 2024

Abstract

Objectives: One of the major issue of developing countries is child labour. A huge number of children, doing the labour work instead of going to schooling under the age of sixteen years. Due to early involvement in work it decrease their work of capacity and a big cause of lower economic growth of a country. Research Gap: We use Pakistan Social and living Standard Measurement (PSLM) dataset of 2018- 19 for our empirical study on child labour and schooling. This survey covers the all regions of Pakistan that are urban, rural and provinces wise also. Methodology: we used descriptive and Binominal Logistic Model for the estimations. Our dependent variable is binary it has two categories. Main Findings: Results showing that gender wise that boys are significantly more involved in child labour as compare to girls. Significant regional differences are also exist in child labour. Income and parental education negatively related with the likelihood that the child is doing work while when the household size is increasing the probability of child labour also increasing. Theoretical / Practical Implications of the Findings: According to province wise huge number of working children proportion is available in Baluchistan followed by Sindh, Punjab and KPK. According to gender wise data is showing that the proportion of working and non-working female children is lesser than the proportion of male working and non-working male children. Originality/Value: Employing rigorous analysis, the study offers valuable data and practical insights for policymakers aiming to promote economic stability.