Peer-reviewed article
Wealth-induced child labour: evidence from Ethiopia
Ziade Hailu, Tilahun Girma ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the relationship between household wealth and child labour in rural and urban Ethiopia using data from 3,500 children aged 5-17 years. Contrary to common assumptions, the research found that children from asset-owning households were more likely to be engaged in labour than those from poor households. The findings suggest that parental decisions about child labour are influenced by factors beyond poverty, including asset ownership and parental choices.
Key points
- Statistically significant association found between household asset ownership and child labour participation
- Children from households owning land, livestock and other endowments were more likely to be employed in labour
- Child labour increases with household asset ownership, challenging the poverty-focused explanation
- The study did not track wealth changes at the individual household level
- Recommendations include parental awareness campaigns and compulsory schooling policies
Limitations
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot establish causal relationships or track how changes in household wealth affect child labour over time. The research could not investigate the mechanisms explaining why asset-owning households employ children in labour more than poor households.
Abstract
Purpose This study aims to empirically test the variation in household assets and the incidence of child labour using data from Ethiopia. Design/methodology/approach The study was cross-sectional in design and used a sample of 3,500 observations (children aged 5–17 years) collected from 2,231 households in the rural and urban areas of Amhara and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' regions in Ethiopia. The logistic regression model was used to estimate the extent to which predictor variables are associated with the incidence of child labour. Findings The results indicate statistically significant child labour participation by those households who own assets than those who do not. The findings suggest that parents who own assets such as land, livestock and other endowments are likely to employ children in labour than the opposite, i.e. child labour increases with household asset ownership. However, this study did not investigate child labour response to wealth increment at the individual household level. Practical implications Any initiative to reduce child labour needs to be accompanied by parental awareness and compulsory schooling as one of the key policy tools. Originality/value This is one of those studies that question the poverty assumption as a cause of child labour and suggests parental selfishness playing a role in accentuating child labour.