Child labor and proficiency: a panel data study of Brazilian schoolchildren

• Grant number: 12/11768-4
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: November 05, 2012
• End date: November 04, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Economics - Economics of Human Resources
• Principal Investigator: André Portela Fernandes de Souza
• Grantee: André Portela Fernandes de Souza
• Visiting researcher: Patrick M. Emerson
• Visiting researcher institution: Oregon State University (OSU), United States
• Host Institution: Escola de Economia de São Paulo (EESP). Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project evaluates the impact of child labor on student proficiency. On one hand, child labor can have a negative impact on proficiency since there is a trade-off of time and efforts between school and work. On the other hand, child labor helps family to increase their income which can have a positive impact on student performance. This project aims to estimate these relationships. It will use the panel data of Prova Sao Paulo, from Sao Paulo city, which allows one to explore the variations of individual child labor status across time and its impact of the student proficiency between 2007 and 2010. (AU)