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BACKGROUND: A considerable part of the worldwide production of surgical instruments takes place in Sialkot, Pakistan. Many children work in hazardous conditions in this industry. OBJECTIVE: We investigated exposure to [...]

This paper investigates the determinants of global child labor among countries with non-zero child labor rates. I find that the average child labor rate across countries rises with the size of the rural population, female labor force participation and fertility, whereas it falls with increases in GDP per capita, the share of public educational expenditures in gross national income, life expectancy and the share of the labor force in industry or agriculture. Over time, as GDP per capita rises and as trade expands, the child labor rate falls, whereas increases in the size of the rural population and in the female participation rate lead to increases in the child labor rate. Results indicate that the most effective ways to combat child labor are to increase GDP per capita, improve life expectancy, expand trade, increase spending on education and raise the GDP growth rate. JEL Classifications: J20, P51 Keywords: Child labor, fertility, GDP, female labor force, INTRODUCTION Child labor is a global phenomenon that has received much attention from humanitarian concerns and from international organizations such as the ILO and UNICEF. It has been blamed on [...]

In this paper, we investigate the role of young adult mortality on child labor and educational decisions. We argue that mortality risks are a major source of risks in returns to education in developing countries. We show that, in the absence of appropriate insurance mechanisms, the level of child labor is inefficient, but it can be too high or too low. It is too high when parents are not very altruistic and anticipate positive transfers from their children in the future. Uncertain returns to education, endogenous mortality or imperfect capital markets unambiguously increase child labor. When the level of child labor is inefficiently high, we also show that a cash transfer conditional on child's schooling can always restore efficiency regarding child labor. JEL classification: D11; D81; H31; I20; O12 Keywords: Child labor; Education; Mortality risks; Old-age security motive; Conditional cash transfers

Undernutrition, pathogenic agents, and poor living conditions are of primary importance in the evaluation of adverse environmental conditions' effects on human growth; but child labor (an equally significant factor, especially in underdeveloped countries) is generally overlooked or ignored. The aim of this study is to focus on this subject and clarify the effects of labor on the physical growth and nutritional status of child and adolescent laborers. In this study, the height and weight of 532 male adolescent laborers aged 13.5-18.5 years and their nonlaboring peers (n = 451) (the control group) were measured by standard anthropometric techniques and equipment. The individuals of both groups come from lower socioeconomic strata and share similar living conditions. Data were transformed to z-scores, using the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention's 2000 growth charts. The analyses show that the z-scores for height-forage, weight-for-age, and body mass index (BMI)-for-age were negative in both groups. The z-scores of laborers' height-for-age and weight-for-age values lie below the controls', but there is no significant difference between the two groups' BMI-for-age scores. In the laboring group, the percentages of stunting (-2 SD of height-for-age), underweight t 2 SD of weight-for-age), and wasting (-2 SD of BMI-for-age) were 14.3, 2.6, and 0.2, respectively. These values suggest that malnutrition is not a common problem among adolescent laborers living in Ankara; but laboring is an important cause of faltering in growth, particularly in linear growth, in less or underdeveloped economic environments. KEY WORDS child labor; adolescent growth; nutritional status; physical stress

From 1880-1920, numerous children who had contracted tuberculosis from living in unsanitary conditions were abandoned by their parents. In answer, the Sociedad de Beneficencia, formed separate care facilities for health and sick children. Attitudes towards sick children began to change and other charities set up hospitals for children with tuberculosis.

Byline: Rajan. Patil Occupational/environmental health studies present phenomenal operational challenges to execute as per protocols due to their peculiarities and idiosyncrasies. Unlike in infectious diseases, where there is genuine desire [...]

Abstract Aims--To describe the work, family socioeconomic characteristics, and growth of a representative sample of working children in Jordan. Methods--In a cross sectional survey of growth and health, 135 working [...]