Child Labor In India

The study by Prasad (2000) shows that, the problem of child labor is multifaceted. The number of child labor in India has declined both in absolute and relative terms between 1981 and 1991. This study shows that it is not a significant as the absolute numbers of child laborers is quite large. The author indicates that child labor indicates in India is largely engaged in subsistence activities in family based production units, which are often linked to the market and exchange mechanisms throw the transfer of the commodities and also the labor power. The author suggests that the strategies of poverty alleviation and rural development schemes along with other schemes for the provision of social security and infrastructure, coupled with universal

On the horizon these goals are interlinked with each other and tackling one problem will create a trigging effect. There is a deep relationship between millennium development goals and child labor. As children are considered the future of nation so it is imperative that tackling the problem of child labor will help in achieving millennium development goals. Many economists have tried to ascertain the prime cause of child labor, which have been poverty, poor education facilities, availability of cheap labor. It has been estimated that overall working children between 5-15 years of age are close to 250 million throughout the world. The major industries employing child labor are glass industry, carpet weaving industry, other industrial units etc. These figures are incorrect because maximum working children are present in agriculture and household sector which are very difficult to estimate. The children working in the household sector contribute to the overall income of the particular household as it gives the liberty for other family members to work in the meanwhile. The other indicator of child labor is poverty. Countries which have a GDP per capita income of above $4000, their incidence of child labor is less than 5%, whereas the countries having the per capita GDP of less

It has taken the Vietnam’s case study, where the child labor was primarily employed on rice farms. As the Vietnam’s economy opened up and the exports of rice increased. It had a corresponding effect on the increase in the prices of rice which eventually resulted in the increase of all labor wages, both adult and child labor. This increase had an inverse effect on child labor. As compared to 1990s it had 45% sharp decline. Interestingly what came out was that the parents wanted their children to attend school rather than work, therefore increase in adult labor substituted the child labor. Although such claims are not true for all economies. It is only possible, where the factors of production are