Labour market structure, child employment, and reproductive behaviour in rural South Asia
Cain, M.; Khorshed Alam Mozumder, A.B.M.
Working Papers, World Employment Programme Research, International Labour Office 89: 73
1980
Document Number: 393678
In this paper it is argued that no adequate evaluation can be made of the economic value of children or its implications for reproductive behaviour among the poor, without reference to the broader context of labour market structure. In addition to determining the employment opportunities and wages of children, the structure of the labour market can in a number of different ways either increase or diminish the need of parents for the economic contributions of children. The second section reviews several theories that have been developed to characterize labour markets in rural South Asia, and uses this review to illustrate the various dimensions along which market structure can influence fertility behaviour, and the varying effects of different market structures. A detailed analysis is then presented of the wage labour market in one locality of rural Bangladesh, in which the theories reviewed earlier are tested and a characterization is developed of labour market structure for that area. The concluding section discusses the implications of the analysis for child labour and wages, and incentives for fertility in rural Bangladesh.