Poverty Alleviation and Child Labor

Abstract

Poor women with children in Ecuador were selected at random for a cash transfer that is less than 20 percent of median child labor earnings. Poor families with children in school at the time of the award use the transfer to postpone the child's entry into the labor force. Students in families induced to take up the transfer by the experiment reduce paid employment by 78 percent and unpaid economic activity inside their home by 32 percent. Time in unpaid household services increases, but overall time spent working declines. (JEL I32, I38, J13, J22, J82, O12)