Inequality, Productivity, and Child Labor: Theory and Evidence

A recent theoretical literature has linked reductions in income inequality to reductions in child labor in countries that are relatively well-off, but has not explored how income distribution affects child labor in very poor countries. We show that while in higher-productivity countries with child labor, a more equal income distribution will reduce or eliminate child labor, in low productivity countries, a more equal distribution of income will exacerbate child labor. Econometric specifications studying child labor among 10- to-14 year olds yield results generally consistent with these predictions. Policy actions that aim to bring about more equality so as to reduce child labor will likely not have the desired effect unless a country in which they are taken is sufficiently wealthy.

Does Child Labor Decrease When Parental Incomes Rises

In the presence of two-sided altruism, i.e., when parents and children care about each other's utility, increases in parental income need not always lead to increases in schooling and to decreases in child labor. This surprising result derives from the systematic way capital market constraints bind as parental income rises: child labor increases as soon as parental income rises by enough to eliminate transfers from children to parents.

A Theory of Exploitative Child Labor

We develop a model of exploitative child labor with two key features: first, parents have imperfect information about whether employment opportunities available to their children are exploitative or not. Second, firms choose whether or not to exploit their child workers. In our model, a ban on exploitative child labor is desirable, because it resolves the problem of imperfect information faced by parents, and therefore leads to Pareto efficiency. We also find that a ban leads to an increase in the wages of child workers, and that firm profits, even for firms that do not exploit child workers, fall. Finally, a ban has ambiguous effects at the macroeconomic level: aggregate child employment and aggregate output can rise or fall.

Slave Redemption When it Takes Time to Redeem Slaves

We analyze slave redemption programs—the buying of slaves to give them their freedom--in a simple matching model, i.e., under the assumption that it takes time to find slaves to buy or sell. Unlike in a supply and demand framework, where sufficiently large and effective redemption programs must lead to an increase in the price at which slaves are exchanged, we find that such programs do not necessarily raise the price of slaves. We also use the model to explain why a slave redemption program can slow the flow of people into the actual state of slavery, but at the same time can increase the number of people captured to be slaves. We present contemporary examples to suggest that the weight that should be assigned to costs inflicted on the extra captured people, versus the benefits enjoyed by those redeemed, depends critically on the nature of the experience at, and just after, capture.slavery, matching models

A Theory of Exploitative Child Labor

Child labor laws should aim to protect children who work, instead of trying to remove children from work. In this paper, we identify an instance when the risk of exploitation lowers the expected bene…t of child labor to the child,and therefore suppresses child labor force participation. Targeted legal intervention that lowers or removes the risk of exploitation raises child participation in the labor market, child welfare, and overall societal welfare. Targeting on child labor more broadly may reduce child labor force participation, child welfare, and overall societal welfare. Our key assumptions for generating these results are that parents decide for each child based on their child's best interest, that parents face imperfect information about the risks their children confront upon entering the labor market, and that firms may choose to exploit this information imperfection by employing children under forced-labor-type conditions.child labor, exploitation

A Theory of Exploitative Child Labor

We develop a model of exploitative child labor with two key features: first, parents have imperfect information about whether employment opportunities available to their children are exploitative or not. Second, firms choose whether or not to exploit their child workers. In our model, a ban on exploitative child labor is desirable, because it resolves the problem of imperfect information faced by parents, and therefore leads to Pareto efficiency. We also find that a ban leads to an increase in the wages of child workers, and that firm profits, even for firms that do not exploit child workers, fall. Finally, a ban has ambiguous effects at the macroeconomic level: aggregate child employment and aggregate output can rise or fall.child labor, economic exploitation

Promoting sustainable Indian textiles: final report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), London, UK

In 2009, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), through the Sustainable Development Dialogue (SDD) fund, backed the Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) at London College of Fashion and Pearl Academy of Fashion (PAF), New Delhi to run a project to promote Indian sustainable textiles. Improving patterns of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in India and the UK is one of the agreed areas for collaboration under the UK-India Sustainable Development Dialogue. The project is also part of a body of work taking place under the Defra Sustainable Clothing Roadmap, which aims to improve the sustainability of clothing. Defra has identified that ‘while an economic success story (globally worth over £500 billion) the industry has a significant environmental and social footprint across its supply chain.’ The Roadmap aims to improve the sustainability of clothing by gathering a robust evidence base of impacts and working with a wide range of stakeholders, to build on existing interventions. For more details on the roadmap see: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/products/roadmaps/clothing/index.htm This report is only one of the dissemination tools associated with the project. The project film, images and website should be viewed in conjunction with this report

Data-Informed Leadership in Education

Explores ideas, frameworks, and beliefs concerning the use of data in educational decision making and in the work of leaders at state and local levels as it relates to the improvement of teaching and learning

Two-divisibility of the coefficients of certain weakly holomorphic modular forms

We study a canonical basis for spaces of weakly holomorphic modular forms of weights 12, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 26 on the full modular group. We prove a relation between the Fourier coefficients of modular forms in this canonical basis and a generalized Ramanujan tau-function, and use this to prove that these Fourier coefficients are often highly divisible by 2.Comment: Corrected typos. To appear in the Ramanujan Journa

The Influence of Values on E-learning Adoption

As technology continues to pervade our lives, the influence of culture on technology adoption is of significant interest to researchers. However, culture, as a group-level construct may not give meaningful results when related to individual-level adoption. Although culture has been integrated into technology adoption models, values are the individual-level representation of culture, and are more appropriate to include in technology adoption models. There have been few studies attempting to explore the influence of values on adoption models, and none within the sphere of digital education. The purpose of this exploratory study is to integrate values with technology adoption models and apply the novel conceptual model to the context of digital education. In this study we investigate the influence of individual-level values on the adoption of e-learning by workers in The Gambia and the UK. Using the Unified Theory of the Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) as a base model, we integrate values relating to conservation of the status quo and self-enhancement from Schwartz’s Theory of Human Values. Taking this approach, we develop and introduce the Values-Enhanced Technology Adoption (VETA) model. We tested the VETA model on the adoption of e-learning by workers in The Gambia and the UK. Empirical results demonstrated the influence of self-enhancement values in the model via social influence, price value and performance expectancy. The UTAUT2 base model was partially validated in that performance expectancy, price value and habit primarily influenced worker intention to use e-learning. We conclude that VETA will be a useful model to researchers studying technology adoption