The Influence of Orphanhood on Children’s Schooling and Labour: Evidence from Sub Saharan Africa

Abstract

This paper explores possible links between orphan hood and two important determinants of child vulnerability - child labor and schooling, using household survey data from 10 Sub Saharan Africa countries. It forms part of a broader, ongoing effort to improve policy responses to the orphan crisis and to child vulnerability generally. Marginal effects calculated after a bivariate probit indicate that becoming an orphan makes it generally less likely that a child has the opportunity to attend school and generally more likely that a child is exposed to work. The size and significance of these effects varies considerably across the 10 analyzed countries, but in only one Lesotho does orphan hood appear to have no significant effect on either work involvement or school attendance. Double orphans appear to be especially vulnerable to schooling loss and work exposure in the analyzed countries, underscoring the importance of the distinction between single and double orphans for policy purposes.