Week 12: Child Labor in the U.S. and Internationally

         This week’s content on child labor was illuminating and very interesting. In this discussion I hope to talk about some of the challenges, developments and future of the movement against child labor in accordance with the film India: Working to End Child Labor, the piece “The health impact of child labor in developing countries: Evidence from cross-country data” and finally, youth employment laws in the United States, and particularly in Arizona.  This discussion will draw upon these sources to hopefully offer a balanced take on the issue, and desires to ultimately foster more discussion on the issue.
         Firstly, the film on India was especially poignant in highlighting the issues associated with child labor—particularly in addressing the types of environments exploitive child labor thrives in. As the article mentioned, “child labor is an important global issue associated with poverty, inadequate educational opportunities, gender inequality, and a range of health risks”, additionally ninety-six percent of child laborers live in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America (“The health impact of child labor in developing countries: Evidence from cross-country data”, 2007). The case of India especially pointed out these elements of the article, while also addressing something that may be unique to India; that is, India’s caste system—which is rooted deeply within the culture and religious beliefs of many of its people. India’s caste system serves the dual function of justifying the poverty much of its population suffers, while also justifying the indolence of the wealthy. In this way, child labor seems to be very much a social issue that needs to be challenged on many levels—including religion, culture and community.
         Subsequently the media also mentioned child labor’s effectual relationship with education. It is interesting to note that many of the children interviewed mentioned that their families depended on them for the income they brought in—and so they must work and could not go to school. Here, we see a few affects: “short term, the most obvious economic impact of child labor at the family level is an increase in household income. Long term, the underaccumulation of human capital caused by low school attendance and poor health is a serious negative consequence of child labor, representing a missed opportunity to enhance the productivity and future earnings capacity of the next generation” (“The health impact of child labor in developing countries: Evidence from cross-country data”, 2007). This verity unwittingly contributes, as India’s caste system also purportedly does, to a cyclic, persistent condition of poverty—one in which there seems to be no means of escape. These are some of the elements that Shanta Sinha, founder of the MV Foundation in India (an organization that seeks to abolish child labor, and promote education) face.

         Roggero's et. all research also found that child labor had significant impact on the health of children in ways that include how work can “expose children to physical and social environments conducive to high-risk sexual behavior”, that work inhibits girls from attaining an education that promotes their health and the health of their progeny, and also on the direct measurement of child mortality rates (“The health impact of child labor in developing countries: Evidence from cross-country data”, 2007). In accordance with the findings of the film, the element of health had a significant impact, not only in the way that it impacted the child’s future health, but also as a determinant for whether and when a child entered the labor force. Several of the children’s stories of child labor were initiated with the existence of a parent’s’ health condition.

         As mentioned above, the MV Foundation serves as a good example of how one organization has sought to end the effects of child labor. As I looked through Arizona’s laws and regulations concerning child labor law, the contrast between child labor in the United States and India struck me—U.S. labor law is basic, clear and defined. On the other hand, it seemed that in the case of India, child labor is left up to the discretion of the child’s parents and the child’s employer—the film mentioned no instance of the government protecting a child’s right to education or a regulated work age or schedule. Thus—the obvious observation that child labor continues to be hidden under a veil of culture and tradition. But in order for advances to continue, it needs to be brought out as a more perceptible political issue.

     Finally, one of the largest factors for whether developing nations can overcome exploitive child labor to create laws that can realistically be enforced—is whether or not the country and organizations can establish programs that promote the welfare of its people. Why do children enter the labor force in the first place? The reasons may not be so fundamentally clear as merely economic—they may stem from issues of health, etc.: for example many of the children in the film had parents with bad health, which forced them to take up jobs, as their parents could not.  In this sense, it might be beneficial to explore different programs which include health, culture, education, etc. to promote child welfare and abolish child labor. 

Works Cited

Meehan, Ruth (director). "India: Working to End Child Labor" 2004. Online video clip. Arizona Universities Library Consortium. FMG Video On Demand. Peadar King (Executive Producer)Accessed on 11 April  2011. http://digital.films.com/play/VBRGKP


Minor, Robert (Cartoonist). Child Labor [Political Cartoon]. Accessed on 11 April 2011. http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/human-rights-cartoon-80/

Roggero, P., Mangiaterra, V., Bustreo, F., & Rosati, F. (2007). The health impact of child labor in developing countries: Evidence from cross-country data. American Journal of Public Health, 97(2), 271-5.