Evaluating the Kuznets curve relationship between economic growth and child labor in an emerging economy
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to test the Kuznets curve between economic growth and child labor, along with the influence of exports, household size and rural population in the context of Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the research objective, this study applied the unit root test, bound co-integration test, and autoregressive distributive lags (ARDL) method for the period of 1972–2021.
Findings
The findings show an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and child labor indicating that at the beginning stage of economic development, child labor increases due to lower per capita household and subsequently, in the long-run of economic development, child labor decreases due to the higher per capita households. Moreover, the results also show that exports, household size and rural population have a positive influence on increasing child labor.
Research limitations/implications
The policymakers and government of Pakistan need to focus on long-term economic growth policies, ensure free quality education and cheap equipment which practices minimum manpower to reduce the threat of child labor.
Social implications
Having long-run economic growth, the government of Pakistan need to equally benefit the households and the poor population to reduce child labor and enhance the social welfare of society.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the Kuznets curve relationship between economic growth and child labor in the context of Pakistan. Moreover, this study contributes to the reduction in child labor through long-term economic growth in the context of Pakistan.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0387
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support, guidance, and valuable comments provided by Professor Yuka Fujimoto, Sunway University, Malaysia, throughout the research write-up. They are also thankful to Dr. Bilal Tariq, COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan, for sharing his expertise in various quantitative econometric techniques. Finally, the authors sincerely thank Professor Meng Qingfeng, School of Management, Jiangsu University, China, for his suggestions for enhancing the quality of the paper.
Citation
Khan, M.Z., Khan, I., Ahmed, Z., Khattak, M.S. and Afridi, M.A. (2024), "Evaluating the Kuznets curve relationship between economic growth and child labor in an emerging economy", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0387
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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