Justification of Child Labor

To understand the full scope of child labor, it must first be explained why children work, who forces them to do work, and why society permits it. The history of child labor and global business have been directly and indirectly linked since WWII and the Industrial Revolution. During this time, countries in war were experiencing extreme poverty and a failing economy. Laws to prohibited child labor did not exist yet, and many families put their children to work to assist in providing for the household.

There are also some cases in which international firms have been unaware of child-labor components in their production. Poverty was the primary drive of child labor during this era. The ILO is aware that history is repeating itself in many developing countries today. Nearly a quarter of the young people between the ages of five and fourteen are working in Ghana, India, Indonesia and Senegal and a third do not attend school ( ILO 1996:8).

It is argued by many that children who work are impaired in terms of development and education. Studies have shown that poverty creates a more suitable and prone environment for child labor. In an article written by J. Becker and M. Wurth, it is said that these conditions give children a desire to work in order to help out their families and provide another source of income for their struggling parents. Economists in general take opposing views on this issue, given into consideration how child labor stimulates the economy an creates income for those families that need it, moral and ethical values can also be argued. Poverty and child labor create a vicious cycle. Poverty drives children to work, often at the expense of their education, which limits their opportunities to secure better paying jobs when they grow up. Studies show that people who enter the workforce at an early age typically end up with less education and lower earnings, and will be more likely to send their own children to work. (Becker, 2014.)

While this justification can be validated, many find it problematic to create a culture of uneducated workers. This will result in a maintained or even increased poverty level in already poor countries. The problem with child labor has grown as the importance of an educated work force has become a prerequisite for economic development. Economists have long argued that economies will grow faster when the general population is literate. If all children learn to read and write, the educational base of the country grows and with it the country’s possibilities for advancement As we approach the twenty-first century, education will play a more prominent role in the development of countries because the skills necessary for working with computers and new technologies require higher levels of schooling and training ( Becker 1997:22). Promoting higher education instead of child labor will begin to end this cycle of poverty and limit the educational handicap.

Globalization has played a big role in child labor in the world. First, globalization may increase the employment and earnings opportunities available to poor households in developing countries. Changes in local labor markets from globalization may increase or decrease child labor.

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