The Causes for Child Labour in India: the Poverty Analysis

Different explanations for the continuing existence of child labour find many takers. There is a debate between the poverty paradigm and the culture paradigm. Another discussion takes place between the scholars who look at the supply side (the characteristics and free choice of parents and children) and at the demand side (the search by employers for cheap and a docile labour force). In an article (Poverty of Analysis) in which he looks at the empirical data on India, Kristoffel Lieten argues that the demand for labour generally (as measured in the labour participation ratio of -female- adult labour) is an important but neglected variable. He combines various explanatory models and is hesitant to put the responsibility on the supply side, as many economic studies do. The article has been published in the Indian Journal of Labour Economics and can be downloaded. The article can also be found at the Documents on our website.