The Factors That Encourage Child Labor - Assignment Example

Name: Tutor: Title: Child Labor: The Middle East Course: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 4 Working has a great impact on the health of a child , it affects their productivity and performance for example in the case of a twelve year old without a father and no one to help, where a child works for twelve hours and at the end of the day can not do anything other than sleep. This reduces their productivity and performance. Some work conditions and environment can result to death of a child. There is currently an estimate indicates that about eleven million Pakistan children in every cranny do labor jobs. However, child labor is influencing the economy positively increasing the earnings in the short run by increasing the likelihood of employing wage and a greater labor per day and earnings per farm. These earnings offset the opportunity cost of reduced schooling, however, in the long-run; it has more negative effects like reduced productivity. 5 Literature review 5 Exploitation and heath effects 5 Effects on schooling 7 Increasing rates of children sexual abuse 8 Empirical model and data 9 Results 10 Recommendations 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 IRIN (2007). IRAQ: Child labour on the rise as poverty increases. IRIN weekly humanitarian. 14 14 IRIN (2005). YEMEN: Focus on child labour. IRIN weekly humanitarian. 14 14 Abstract There is a lot of information on the factors that encourage child labor and different people and organizations are coming up with plans with an effort to eradicate it. However, there is limited verification of the actual effects of child labor on the economy and the general society through factors like health, wages and education. Child labor cases are a growing matter of concern in the developing countries, especially in Pakistan, in the Middle East. This study assesses the impacts of child labor over a five-year period using data from the Child Labor survey and robust methodology. The study identifies considerable effects of child labor on their participation in school activity and class performances and in addition, the adults that worked as children happen to earn more than those who did not. It also examines the aspects on growth and effects of work related factors on growth of the children. The study shows that there is dominance of child labor in households with lower income levels and where parents are likely to have been victims of lost education (unskilled). Non schooling of parents is therefore passed to next generations. These findings indicate that education incentive and assurance of future financial stability will be effective in reducing the rate of child labor. Introduction Other than being a worldwide problem, child labor is rampant in the developing and third world countries like Pakistan. Most children are lured into labor against the provisions of the law. According to ILO, (2002), the report indicated that 246,000,000 children are victims of child labor, aged between five and seven years. Among six children in the age bracket, at least one of them is a victim of the circumstance. The report estimates about 13,400,000 children in the Middle East and North Africa are contributing to the economic development 2,500,000 in developed countries, 127,300,000 in Asia and the Pacific and 48,000,000 in the sub-Saharan Africa. The study seeks to investigate the effects that child labor has on aspects of education and the labor market. It examines the possibility of adequate school attendance for individuals who work at childhood being affected as a result of working at a tender age. It also looks at the reasons as to why children work because of decisions made in their homes, and the policies that govern such actions to eradicate the limitations and encourage education rather than work. The findings indicate that after some years of working, children working at a tender age are affected in their academic performance in terms of grades per year, and their level of education is lower than for those who did not work when young. Working has a great impact on the health of a child , it affects their productivity and performance for example in the case of a twelve year old without a father and no one to help, where a child works for twelve hours and at the end of the day can not do anything other than sleep. This reduces their productivity and performance. Some work conditions and environment can result to death of a child. There is currently an estimate indicates that about eleven million Pakistan children in every cranny do labor jobs. However, child labor is influencing the economy positively increasing the earnings in the short run by increasing the likelihood of employing wage and a greater labor per day and earnings per farm. These earnings offset the opportunity cost of reduced schooling, however, in the long-run; it has more negative effects like reduced productivity. Literature review Exploitation and heath effects Exploitation of a child at a younger age and physical and metal effects of child labor reduces productivity of a child which has more unfavorable effects on the general economy in the long run. Growth rate is one of the impacts of working at a tender age especially in areas like industrial, agricultural and service sectors. The 2004 MoSA report shows that, labor jobs provided in construction sites and which employ children affect their growth patterns as the impede growth (Hindman, 2009). UNICEF (2002) report provided a report estimating about 250,000,000 children in the five to fourteen years age bracket globally are working and are being exploited which is affecting their mental and physical health. According to UNDP (2006), the report indicated that 33% of the Children working in Iraq are being exploited by their employees and the nature of their work is also affecting them physical and mentally. IRIN (2012) reports a case in Baghdad where a 12year old child is subjected to long hours working and abuse by strangers in the streets in order to provide for the family. Such cases are rising in the Middle East and are having a long-term effect on the general economic performance due a growing population of less informed and less educated adults. According to Salem et al (2005), the study indicated that there are children who work in Agricultural farms and out of them, about 83% and more are susceptible to diseases and intoxication. Half the population is infected with acute inflammation of the skin, and about a fifth of them suffer stomach problems. Chemicals in the companies and farms result in to epileptic conditions which according to the report have so far affected 5% of the children. The report further showed that, labor jobs provided in construction sites and which employ children affect their growth patterns as the impede growth. The reports also reveals that children working in industrial sites such as garage and workshops are prone too respiratory infections as a result of breathing in polluted air with harmful vapors, smoke and dust. IRIN (2005) records different cases of work related deaths of children due to exposure of harmful reagents at places of work. The author reported an incident in March 2005 from its team of Mahweet, Northwest Sana 12 year old boy who died as a result of burns from welding in the workshop he was working. The study also reported another 12year old Death as a result of breathing in toxic seethe from pesticides. The study shows that exploitation is also common in Yemen where children workers are forced to work for more than seven hours and more than four hours continuously, against the provisions of the law. It says that employees prefer employing children since they are cheap and exploit them to work seven days a week. Effects on schooling Child labor has an impact on a child’s schooling and performance in school. This is based on the opportunity cost in time utilized in working rather than attending classes or studying. The ministry of social affairs (2004) report, in conjunction with the Child labor combat department, recorded a total of 421 thousand children among the one million working children population had dropped out of school in Yemen. The past report of UNICEF 1998 showed increasing numbers of the child workforce in the country from 1991 at 1,600,000 to 2,200,000 in 1994. IRIN (2011) studied the effect of child labor and reported the incident of the Saudi Arabian pull. Jamal al-Haddi, the project manager of the Child labor combating unit and ILO (Access-plus) project said that most children in Hajjah Governorate seized schooling and moved to Saudi in search for employment. Most of such children if not followed up by organizations or any other concerned parties might never go back to school again. IRIN reports on how school attendance is greatly affected by such aspects of employment which attract more children to work rather than School. The author also compares the relationship between decisions made by children and families and their social status. Results show that, parents would prefer children going to work and support their families than go to school and expect supplies form them like the case of Hajjah children migrating to Saudi Arabia. Increasing rates of children sexual abuse Increasing levels of children sexual abuse in the Afghanistan is attributed to child labor systems which encourage employment of children by specialists. Hasrat-Nazimi (2012) study shows that fifteen million children below 15 years experience critical living conditions and among them, only 6 million has the government attended to. He says that such children are compelled to working and as a result fall victims of abuse, sexually. The author says that a girl child is most prone to such situations than the boy child. However, they are both susceptible to abuse. He reports that, the Western Herat region reported seventy or more children sexual abuse cases in 2012 while the unknown cases which victims don’t report are probably more. The author further suggests that families are educated and given incentives to be able to access education and trainings in order to assure them a financially stable future. He say this will reduce the number of children that are increasingly flooding the labor market in order to supply for their families. Karthikeyan et al (2000) study indicated that among the cases of abuse reported in Saudi Arabia, 13.95 percent of them were sexually related. They say that physical cases reported in the hospital are mainly accompanied by sexual abuse cases which most of them occur at the children places of work. Empirical model and data The treatment (Ti) in the survey is child participation in the initial wield of the survey. Outcomes of participation in the child labor activities are represented by (Yi) and include Growth and Health issues, Gender divisions, School enrollment, and Joint schooling and economic participation. Measured after a period of recording time; yi = α + βTi + γXi + εi Xi are controls in the households and society levels. The study includes restrictions on the sample such as age limit of between 5 to 14 years. The area was limited to the middle East countries where Iraq, Iran and Jordan were involved. Data used was obtained from the World of child Labor historical and regional survey by Hindman (2009). The studies were conducted in different years containing information on the general economy, human capital and child activities including economic participation, school, a combination of school and economic activity, complete non participation and child labor based on gender. The table of Iraq derived from Iraq Multiple Indicator Cluster survey of 2006 included children between 5 and 14 years. The sample was also categorized in terms of residential places, which are urban and rural. In Jordan, a sample of 135 boys were picked in three residential areas and employment sectors, the service sector, agricultural and industrial sectors who were working and no longer schooling. Control sample of 405 boys was also obtained but were not working, from same residential areas and age. Interviews were conducted for each participant and their families and measurements recorded for standard growth. Social and demographic information was obtained like heights for the working and non working groups in order to determine effects of working at a young age on growth. It investigates the effect of factors surrounding work on growth of the boys who are employed (work). Results In Iraq, children start engaging in economic activities at 12years and at 12 to 14 years children were involved in excessive economic activities. These children work for more than fourteen hours a week and 15 year olds who do household chores go to the extreme of 28 hours a week. Jordan findings indicated that most of the working boys resided in the rural areas and were poor compared to the lot of boys who were not working. Among the working, about 57% of their parents were unskilled while for non working were 40%. 23% of their households had a monthly per capita income of 20 JD or less, while non working shared only 8.4%. Working boys tend to be considerably shorter than the non working when their heights were measured with a variation of about a 5.3CM. Information on factors related to work facilitated the study of working hours, wage rate and type of work on growth of the participants. Male children balancing work and schooling are at 23.5% while female are only 11%. According to the findings, child labor participation also affects the health and growth of the children. The study approximates that at about 30years, any earnings that are given up as a result of no schooling amounts to a more proportion than the benefits of earnings childhood labor earnings. Recommendations Organizations such as UNICEF and UDP are coming up in order to ensure children are protected. However, this will be more effective if poverty is dealt with first and the future of families are secured so that children are not forced to work. This is because; most households with working children are headed by parents who are less skilled, which affects their next generation. If schooling facilities are provided through aids and cost reduced through subsidizing, most children will not have to stop schooling to work or try to balance school and work, and this will therefore reduce the level of child labor in Middle East and other third world countries. Directing enough efforts towards reducing levels of child labor by child protection organizations, government and society will help in reducing levels sexual abuse of children to a large extent. This is because children employment is a major contributor to sexual assaults of children. Conclusion From the results, work has a negative impact on the growth of children. Work tends to affect growth at the crucial development stages of a child, which is the puberty stage. Male children are more capable of balancing schooling and work than female. Iran displays a fairly balanced participation of children in the labor market which in all the three countries contribute to economic growth in the short run but affect the population in the long- run. That is why most households with working children are headed by parents who are less skilled. This affects their next generation. We can also make a conclusion that working affects a child’s schooling following the amount of wage rate they get, which makes them appreciate schooling less, type of work and duration, which limits time to attend school. Robust methodology works well in studying the effects of work on children’s growth. References Bavitch, N (2010). Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights of children and Adolescents: Baseline Knowledge, Attitudes and practices (KAP) Survey. Education services providers KAP Hindman, H. D. (2009). The world of child labor: An historical and regional survey. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe. Karthikeyan, G., Mohanty, S.K. & Fuozi A. (2000). Child abuse: Report of three cases from Khamis Mushayt. Annals of Saudia Medicine Vol 20, Nos. %-6, 2000 International Labor Organisation report (2002). A Future Without Child Labour, Global Report under the Follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work". International Labour Office, Geneva. ISBN 92-2-112416-9. Price: 20 Swiss Francs. IRIN (2007). IRAQ: Child labour on the rise as poverty increases. IRIN weekly humanitarian. IRIN (2005). YEMEN: Focus on child labour. IRIN weekly humanitarian. Salem, N., Mitwally.H., Oueda, M & Farag, O (2005). Health complaints Among Children Working in agriculture. Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi (2012). Child labor promotes Abuse in Afghanistan. Deutsche Welle. Read More