Peer-reviewed article
Child Labour and Maternal Bargaining Power in India: A Systematic Literature Review
Pragyan Paramita Sahoo, Anwesha Aditya ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This is a systematic review of 32 peer-reviewed articles on how mothers' bargaining power within the household relates to child labour in India. It followed PRISMA guidelines and searched Scopus, Web of Science, EconLit and Google Scholar. The review reports that when mothers have more say over household decisions and resources, children are more likely to stay in school and less likely to work. It also notes that studies measure maternal decision-making inconsistently. The authors suggest future research directions and policy recommendations centred on empowering mothers.
Key points
- The review used a PRISMA-based approach and synthesised 32 peer-reviewed journal articles.
- Greater maternal bargaining power over household decisions and resources is linked to children being more likely to remain in school.
- Greater maternal bargaining power is also linked to children being less likely to enter the labour force.
- A consistent gap exists in how studies measure and address the influence of maternal decision-making on child labour.
- The authors say empowering mothers is important for breaking the cycle of child labour and for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals in India.
Limitations
Only the abstract is available, so we cannot see the individual studies, how their quality was assessed, or the size of the effects. The findings describe associations from the reviewed literature and the abstract does not say whether they are causal.
Abstract
Child labour endures as a critical social and policy issue in India, shaped not only by poverty and economic necessity but also by the family structure and parental influence. Using a PRISMA-based systematic review, this study searched Scopus, Web of Science, EconLit, and Google Scholar from database inception to the most recent search in 2025, and synthesised 32 peer-reviewed journal articles. Central to this analysis is the often-overlooked role of mothers’ bargaining power within the household. The review finds compelling evidence that when mothers hold greater bargaining power over household decisions and resources, children are more likely to remain in school and less likely to enter the labour force. However, a consistent gap persists in how current studies measure and address the influence of maternal decision-making on child labour. By systematically identifying these gaps and assessing the robustness of existing evidence, this study offers a roadmap for future research and actionable policy recommendations. The findings emphasise that empowering mothers is not only essential to breaking the cycle of child labour but also vital for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals in India.