The effect of child work on schooling: evidence from Egypt

Does child labour affect school attainment in Egypt?

By: Assaad R, Levison D & Zibani N
Published by: Economic Research Forum (ERF), Egypt , 2005

This paper includes causal evidence that lower crude rates of school attendance for Egyptian children are not due to limited access to schools but rather to a substantial burden of work. Although some activists argue that all child labour should be abolished, the authors prefer a more nuanced approach which does not assume that all work – whether it is paid or unpaid, labour force or domestic – is good or bad for children and youth. While some work activities of children are unquestionably detrimental to their physical and/or mental well-being, most tasks undertaken by Egyptian 6-14 year olds do not fall clearly in these categories. On the other hand, the conventional measures of labour force work often ignore a variety of child activities that could potentially jeopardise their schooling. This is especially true for girls who must often do domestic chores, which are not captured in the conventional definitions of work, for many hours each day.