Evidence on the impact of child labor on child health in Iran

Masoomeh Masoudi¹ Bahram Sahabi²

1) Iran Tehran Tarbiat Modares University School of Management and Economics Email:
2) Iran Tehran Tarbiat Modares University School of Management and Economics Email:

IOI Code : XYAC-ZCAFF
Publication : 3rd.International Conference on Modern Research’s in Management,Economics & Accounting(3meaconf.com)
Abstract :
    Background and Objective: Child labor and their health status is one of the most complicated socio-economic issues in Iran and entire world. According to existing literature, child employment couldn?t be a barrier to their health and since policy making in this framework is very crucial, analysis of socio-economic-demographic factors on child labor health could have some important policy implication to policy makers that forms our main purpose. Materials and Methods: To fulfill the purpose of the study, we are used 48454 household data from Iranian Household Budget survey from 2007 to 2012. Heckman?s Sample Selection approach is used to model asymmetric information and avoid from sample selection bias. Using Heckman?s Sample Selection approach, decision and selection equations are estimated. These equations are estimated simultaneously and sample selection bias is corrected by Heckman?s approach. Results: Marginal effects derived from Heckman?s estimation for selection equation are as follows: employment status (-0.02), head of household?s income (0.006), numbers of children living in the household (-0.0004), head of household?s education (0.17), Adult?s level of education (0.016), home ownership status (0.045), head of household?s age (0.032), gender (-0.425), children?s age group (0.035) and at decision equation are as follows: home ownership status (0.034), head of household?s age (0.035), gender (1.907), children?s age group (0.066), number of over 18 children living in the household (-0.021), children?s education status (-0.262). All coefficients except number of children are significant at least at 10 percent significant level. Conclusion: Our findings show that employment is a barrier to Iranian children and Healthy Worker Selection Effect theory is not implied in Iranian child labor. Despite all studies at this framework that because of simplicity and evade from sample bias didn?t consider non-students at their sample, we did this correction and we considered the student and non-student child labor. The reason for such correction is that education has a great impact on both health status and employment and evading from this kind of specification could have arisen serious problems and could have biased the results. In addition to education, other socio-economic-demographic factors are used to assess child labor health. Results show that in addition to social factors, economic and demographic factors have significant effect on child labor health status too.

Keywords : child labor health household’s budget