Paper
Unintended Effects of Microfinance: An Increase in Child Labour in Some Contexts?
Encouraging investment in children's future
1 pages
This paper draws on a study of Mexico to state that policies which encourage the small business activities of women may lead to an increase in child labor.
An increasing number of policies in developing countries seek to empower women through female entrepreneurship. There is evidence that these strategies have been successful in empowering women, but less is known about how such an increase in mothers’ non-domestic labor affects working hours of their children. An analysis of data from rural areas in Mexico reveals that:
- Children from better-off households have, on average, the same chance of working as those from poorer households;
- Probability of a child working increases by 43% if the mother works, independent of the level of household poverty;
- Mothers often have to take their children to work with them because of a lack of childcare institutions, such as schools.
The paper states that provision of family and social support infrastructure as well as policies that encourage investment in children’s future may help mitigate these unintended impacts.
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