Labouring Children and Loving Parents: Differential Care Intensities and Abusive Child Labour

Abstract

Empirically we find children employed in different types of jobs with varying degrees of abusiveness. There are models that explain the operation of abusive child labour. However little is known about the families attitudes towards abusive jobs for their children. The paper tries to tackle this question theoretically and empirically. Theoretically, we construct a model of varying care intensities where the hapless families sent their more cared child to the abusive jobs. Empirically, the phenomenon is examined by utilising an Indian data set, through an ordered probit model where children are ranked according to the family preferences.