The Health Consequences of Hazardous and Nonhazardous Child Labor

The health consequences of child labor are ambiguous. On the one hand, heavy lifting, using dangerous tools and handling fertilizers may impact negatively on health. On the other, child labor could be used to achieve a minimal subsistence standard, without which the child could experience deteriorating health. Previous empirical studies are inconclusive because, until now, existing data sources could not disentangle between different activities performed by child workers. To establish how work is related to health, it is essential to know what activities are being performed. This study fills this gap with a unique child labor survey conducted in Peru in 2015. Child labor is classified into hazardous and nonhazardous activities. The econometric results suggest that children doing nonhazardous work are less likely to have health problems than nonworking children. Conversely, those that work in hazardous activities are potentially more likely to exhibit health concerns. A series of robustness tests confirm these findings. The results give impetus to the notion that child work increases total resources available for households, which can improve child health. Therefore, it is over and above this potential increment in resources that some hazardous activities worsen working children's health.