Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/236497 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 14466
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Millions of children are forcibly displaced around the world, making child labor a serious risk. However, little is known about this topic due to the difficulty of finding representative datasets for this population and information on child labor. In this study, we use a representative dataset on Syrian refugees in Turkey, the largest refugee group in any single country, to examine the incidence of child labor and its determinants. The incidence of paid work is remarkably high among boys. While 17.4% of 12-14 year-olds are in paid employment, a staggering 45.1% of 15-17 year-olds receive payment. We find that paid work is positively associated with poverty, proficiency in Turkish, living in an industrialized region in Turkey, originating from rural areas in Syria and living in a household with a young, female, or less-educated head. Family composition matters more for girls' employment than boys'. Boys' (girls') employment increases if their father (mother) is alive – suggesting network effects. Being older at arrival is highly associated with child labor, indicating that difficulty with school integration drives children into employment.
Subjects: 
child labor
forced displacement
Syrian refugees
paid work
migrants
Turkey
JEL: 
J13
J15
J61
O15
O53
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
427.16 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.