Ending child labour 'would harm families'

ONE of the oldest economics associations in the world today published details of radical plans to cut child poverty and improve the global economy.

Research published in the Royal Economic Society’s Economic Journal claimed banning the worst kinds of child labour would do more harm than good. It also said policies to boost the finances of poor families should be scrapped to help create a smaller breed of more "quality" children.

Canadian professors Sylvain Dessy and Stphane Pallage argued that the International Labour Organisation’s intention to introduce a convention banning the worst kinds of child labour - in sectors such as drug-trafficking, mining, deep-sea fishing and prostitution - would be detrimental to the welfare of poor families and countries’ accumulation of "human capital" - the skills it needs for development.

Reducing poverty, intrinsically linked to child labour, would have far more impact on the problem, they said.

In separate research, Dr Omer Moav, of Israel’s Hebrew University, claimed ditching tax discounts for large families, child allowances and subsidised childcare and meals would encourage families to focus on having fewer "quality" children.

Educated parents had a comparative advantage in raising quality children, while poor and less-educated families, for whom children are "cheap", had a comparative advantage in quantity.

Greater child quality would enhance economic growth, he said.