Child labour and school attendance: evidence from Bangladesh

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to understand better the determinants of child labour and schooling in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses data from a survey based in rural Bangladesh and considers the children aged 5-17 years living in rural households in which the mother and father are both present. The sample size is 1,628 children. A multinomial logit model is used to estimate the determinants of schooling and working, combining schooling and work, or doing nothing for 5-17 years old children. Findings – The results show that the education of parents significantly increases the probability that a school-age child will specialise in study. The presence of very young children (aged 0-4) in the household increases the likelihood that a school-age child will combine study with work. The significant and positive gender coefficient suggests that girls are more likely than boys to combine schooling with work. The children who are sons and daughters of the household-head, as opposed to being relatives living in the household are more likely to combine study and work but less likely to specialise in work. Originality/value – The existing anti-child labour policies mainly focus on the lowering of the demand for child labour in Bangladesh. The focus of this paper is, however, on the supply side of child labour, particularly on the use of child labour in the agricultural sector and the household sector where children are mainly employed by their parents. Unlike most of the existing studies on child labour, this paper considers housework and non-market works in the definition of child labour.