Peer-reviewed article
Socio economic determinants of child labour in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Nabeela Begum, Javed Iqbal, Hina ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines why children work in two districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It finds that older children, those from larger families, and those with less education are more likely to work. Surprisingly, higher household income is also associated with child labour, suggesting that children's work may be a significant source of family income. The researchers recommend educational subsidies and support for smaller family sizes to reduce child labour.
Key points
- Age of children is positively associated with participation in child labour
- Family size is positively related to child labour
- Education is negatively and significantly associated with child labour participation
- Higher household income shows a positive association with child labour, contrary to expectations, possibly indicating children's work is a major household income source
- Recommendations include educational subsidies for families and encouragement of smaller family sizes
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional and does not establish causal relationships between socioeconomic factors and child labour. The data source is limited to information from one organization in two districts, which may not represent all of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or enable generalisation to other regions of Pakistan.
Abstract
This study examines the determinants of child labour in Mardan and Nowshera districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Primary data on socioeconomic characteristics of children engaged and did not engage in child labour were obtained from Labour Education Organization Mardan. Age of the children and family size are positively and education is negatively and significantly associated with the probability of children participation in labour market. The probability of child labour is more with the household income although with a very low coefficient value which is contrary to our expectations and may ne indicative that child labour could be a major source of household income. This study suggests that subsidies may be provided to families for their children education. Family size is also positively related to the child labour, therefore steps may be taken towards encouraging small family sizes and thereby reducing the child labour.