Economic Importance of Hidden Child Labour among Poor Rural Families of West Bengal, India: An Investigation through Field Experiment

Abstract

This article investigates whether school-going children’s participation as ‘not directly paid’ family labourers in domestic chores and/or economic activities helps their families to improve their livelihood in rural West Bengal. The findings indicate that the likelihood of hidden child labour is greater when the child’s father is old, the child is not an infant, the household possesses positive operational assets and the child’s mother is part of a self-help group. Parental positive attitude towards their child’s education can also reduce the incidence of hidden child labour within the family. The evidence from the two-step treatment effect model further suggests that hidden child labour helped their family earn a higher family income than households without hidden child labour during the reference period.