Abstract
Debt bondage is a violation of human rights. Landless households take advances to survive in their village. Child labour is used to increase household productivity. We use data from a survey conducted in Tamil Nadu, India, to test the relationship between child labour their specialization in the brick kiln industry and debt bondage. Probit model is used to test the determinant factors of children’s specialization. Children are mainly involved in two activities, moulding and clay preparation. The main results show that the specialization of children depends on age. Clay preparation is an activity has a positive effect on household debt repayment, and moulding activity allows the household to increase its production of bricks.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Amin, S., Quayes, M. S., & Rives, J. M. (2004). Poverty and other determinants of child labor in Bangladesh. Southern Economic Journal, 70(4), 876–892.
Anker, R. (2000). The economics of child labour: A framework for measurement. International Labour Review, 139(3), 257–280.
Baland, J. M., & Robinson, J. A. (2000). Is child labour inefficient? Journal of Political Economy, 108(4), 663–680.
Bardhan, P. (1979). Wages and unemployment in a poor agrarian economy: A theoretical and empirical analysis. Journal of Political Economy, 87(3), 479–500.
Bardhan, P. (1983). Labor-tying in a poor agrarian economy: A theoretical and empirical analysis. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 98(3), 501–514.
Basu, K. (1999). Child labor: Cause, consequence, and cure, with remarks on international labor standards. Journal of Economic literature, 37(3), 1083–1119.
Basu, K., & Tzannatos, Z. (2003). The global child labor problem: What do we know and what can we do? The World Bank Economic Review, 17(2), 147–173.
Beegle, K., Dehejia, R., & Gatti, R. (2006). Child labor and agricultural shocks. Journal of Development Economics, 81, 80–96.
Bhaduri, A. (1973). A study in agricultural backwardness under semi-feudalism. Economic Journal, 83(329), 120–127.
Bhukuth, A. (2005). Child labour and debt bondage: A case study of brick kiln workers in southeast India. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 40(4), 287–302.
Bhukuth, A. (2006). Debt bondage in the brokerage system: A case study of sugarcane migrants in the state of Tamil Nadu (India). International Journal of Development Issues, 5(1), 65–84.
Bhukuth, A., & Ballet, J. (2006). Is child labour a substitute for adult labour? A case study of brick kiln workers in Tamil nadu. India. International Journal of Social Economics, 33(8), 594–600.
Bhukuth, A., Parthesarathy, R., & Venkatasubramanian, G. (2006). The brokerage system in the brick kiln industry in Tamil Nadu, India. Forum for Social Economics, 35(2), 55–74.
Bhukuth, A., Ballet, J., & Guérin, I. (2007). Social capital and the brokerage system: The formation of debt bondage in South India. Journal of Economic Studies, 34(4), 311–323.
Bhukuth, A., Ballet, J., Sirven, N. (2016). Bonded labour or what else? A case study in Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of International Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.326.
Breman, J. (1978). Seasonal migration and co-operation capitalism: Crushing of cane and of labour by sugar factories of Bardoli. Economic and Political Weekly, Special Number (August), 1317–1360.
Breman, J. (1979). Patronage and exploitation: Changing agrarian relations in South Gujarat. New Delhi: Manohar Publications.
Breman, J., Guérin, I., Prakash, A. (Eds). (2009). India’s unfree workforce. Old and new practices of labour bondage. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Chakraborty, P. (2007). Implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in India: Spatial dimension and fiscal implication (Working Paper No. 505). The Levy Economic Institute.
Dendir, S. (2007). Household shocks and child labor in rural Malawi. Economic Bulletin, 4(1), 1–8.
Edmonds, E. V. (2005a). Does child labor decline with improvements in economic status. Journal of Human Resources, 40(1), 77–89.
Edmonds, E. V. (2005b). Child labor and schooling responses to anticipated income in South Africa. Journal of Development Economics, 81, 386–414.
Edmonds, E. V. (2006). Understanding sibling differences in child labor. Journal of Population Economics, 19, 795–821.
Edmonds, E. V., & Pavcnik, N. (2005). The effect of trade liberalization on child labor. Journal of International Economics, 65(2), 401–419.
Edmonds, E. V., & Schady, N. (2012). Poverty alleviation and child labor. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 4(4), 100–124.
Eswaran, M., & Kotwal, A. (1985). A theory of two-tier labor markets in agrarian economies. American Economic Review, 75(1), 162–177.
Genicot, G. (2002). Bonded labor and serfdom: A paradox of voluntary choice. Journal of Development Economics, 67, 101–127.
Guérin, I. (2013). Bonded labour, agrarian changes and capitalism: Emerging patterns in South India. Journal of Agrarian Change, 13(3), 405–423.
Gupta, J. (2003). Informal labour in brick kilns: Need for regulation. Economic and political weekly, 38(31), 3282–3292.
Jacoby, H. G., & Skoufias, E. (1997). Risk, financial markets, and human capital in a developing country. Review of Economic Studies, 64(3), 311–335.
Jha, R., Bhabha Charyya, S., & Gaiba, R. (2009). Capture of anti-poverty programs: An analysis of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Program in India. Journal of Asian Economics, 20, 456–464.
Kamble, N. D. (1982). Bonded labour in India. New Delhi: Uppal Publishing House.
Liu, Y., & Barrett, C. B. (2013). Heterogeneous pro-poor targetings in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Economic and Political Weekly, 48(10), 46–53.
Muhkerjee, A, Ray, D. (1995). Labor tying. Journal of Development Economics, 47(2), 207–239.
Ranjan, P. (1999). An economic analysis of child labor. Economics Letters, 64, 99–105.
Ranjan, P. (2001). Credit constraint and the phenomenon of child labor. Journal of Development Economics, 64, 81–102.
Siddiqi, F., & Patrinos, H. A. (1995). Child labor: Issues, causes and interventions. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bhukuth, A., Ballet, J. (2019). Family Strategies for Children Working in the Brick Kiln Industry: The Case of Southeast India. In: Ballet, J., Bhukuth, A. (eds) Child Exploitation in the Global South. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91177-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91177-9_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-91176-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-91177-9
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)