Can a ban on child labour be self-enforcing, and would it be efficient?

IF 6.1 2区 经济学
Alessandro Cigno
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Abstract

Existing literature shows that a ban on child labour may be self-enforcing under the extreme assumption that, above the subsistence level, no amount of consumption can compensate parents for the disutility of child labour. The present paper shows that a partial ban may be self-enforcing also in a more general model where education is an alternative to work, and the disutility of child labour can be compensated by higher present consumption or future income, but a total ban may not. It also shows that, in the absence of informational asymmetries, child labour can be eliminated and a first best achieved if the ban is combined with a credit-backed policy including a subsidy to parents, and a tax on skilled adults. A first best is out of reach if the use children make of their time when they are neither at school, nor working in the labour market is private information, because the policy maker then faces an incentive-compatibility constraint. The second-best policy reduces child labour, but not to zero.

Abstract Image

禁止使用童工能否自我强制执行,是否有效?
现有文献表明,在以下极端假设下,禁止使用童工可能会自我强制执行:在维持生计的水平之上,任何消费数额都无法弥补父母使用童工的效用。本文表明,在一个更普遍的模型中,教育是工作的替代品,童工的无用性可以通过更高的当前消费或未来收入得到补偿,在这种情况下,部分禁止也可能会自我强制,但全面禁止可能不会。研究还表明,在没有信息不对称的情况下,如果将禁止童工与信贷支持政策(包括对父母的补贴和对有技能的成年人征税)结合起来,就可以消除童工现象,并实现第一最佳效应。如果儿童在既不上学也不在劳动力市场工作的情况下所利用的时间属于私人信息,那么第一最佳政策就无法实现,因为政策制定者将面临激励相容约束。次优政策会减少童工,但不会减少到零。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
9.60
自引率
6.60%
发文量
50
期刊介绍: The Journal of Population Economics is an international quarterly that publishes original theoretical and applied research in all areas of population economics. Micro-level topics examine individual, household or family behavior, including household formation, marriage, divorce, fertility choices, education, labor supply, migration, health, risky behavior and aging. Macro-level investigations may address such issues as economic growth with exogenous or endogenous population evolution, population policy, savings and pensions, social security, housing, and health care. The journal also features research into economic approaches to human biology, the relationship between population dynamics and public choice, and the impact of population on the distribution of income and wealth. Lastly, readers will find papers dealing with policy issues and development problems that are relevant to population issues.The journal is published in collaboration with POP at UNU-MERIT, the Global Labor Organization (GLO) and the European Society for Population Economics (ESPE).Officially cited as: J Popul Econ Factor (RePEc): 13.576 (July 2018) Rank 69 of 2102 journals listed in RePEc
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