Women’s Status and Child Labour in Nepal

Abstract

This paper uses data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey 2 (2003/2004) to find evidence to whether children are less likely to work and more likely to attend school in a household where the mother has a say in the intra-family decision-making, than in one where the father holds all the power. This is done by using a bivariate probit model with two dependent variables: child labour and school attendance. The results support the hypothesis that in households where mothers have bargaining power, measured in particular with mother’s non-labour income (remittances), mother’s marriage age and her awareness of fertility controlling, children are less likely to be sent to work. They are also more likely to attend school.

Publication Information

Nyyssölä, M. (2007), Women’s Status and Child Labour in Nepal, WIDER Working Paper 85/2007.

• ISSN: 1810-2611
• ISBN: 978-92-9230-038-8
• JEL: J08, J21, I20, J16