Back to browse results
The Relation between Child Work and the Employment of Mothers in India
Authors: Francavilla, Francesca; Giannelli, Gianna Claudia
Source: International Journal of Manpower, 2010, v. 31, iss. 2, pp. 232-57
Topic(s): Child labor
Employment
Women's status
Country: Asia
  India
Published: JUL 2010
Abstract: Abstract: This paper aims to study the relation between the employment of mothers and the activities of children with the aim of contributing to the understanding of child work in India. Multinomial logit specifications of children's activities and mothers' employment are estimated on survey data drawn from the National Family Health Survey 1998-1999 for all India. The joint specification combines four states of children aged 6-14 (studying, working in the market, working for the family, or being inactive) with the employed/not employed status of mothers. The results show that the mother's preferred choice is not working and sending children to school. This is especially true for more educated mothers. Also the father's education is positively (negatively) related to child schooling (work), but the effect is smaller as compared to that of mothers. All specifications yield the result that the probability of children working increases if their mothers work. Higher levels of household wealth play a fundamental role in lowering the risk of child work.