Child labor and the interaction between the quantity and quality of children
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Southern Economic Journal
Publication Date
7-1-2004
Volume
71
Issue
1
First Page
21
Last Page
35
Abstract
This article analyzes the impacts of child labor on the interaction between the quantity and quality of children in the spirit of Becker and Lewis. It shows that, without child labor, the quantity of children can be a normal good so that it increases with parental income under some fairly standard formulations. However, the correlation between fertility and parental income becomes negative when the role of child labor is considered. The model also implies that fertility increases with the wage rate of child labor. Moreover, it suggests that government intervention not only directly affects the supply of child labor but also influences parents' decisions on fertility, which indirectly determines children's labor market participations.
DOI
10.2307/4135308
Print ISSN
00384038
E-ISSN
23258012
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2004 Southern Economic Association
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Fan, C. S. (2004). Child labor and the interaction between the quantity and quality of children. Southern Economic Journal, 71(1), 21-35. doi: 10.2307/4135308