The impact of child labor on children's educational performance: Evidence from rural Vietnam

- We investigate the impact of child labor on children's educational performance in rural Vietnam using the 1998-Vietnam Living Standard Survey.
- We estimate a system of simultaneous tobit and ordered probit equations standing for the determinants of child labor and children's educational performance, respectively.
- We use the average wage of unskilled female workers within a commune as an instrument for child labor.
- We find that child labor lowers children's academic performance and the negative impact is bigger for girls.

In 1998, nearly one-third of Vietnamese children engaged in non-housework labor supply, 95% of these working children residing in rural areas. This paper investigates the impact of child labor on children's educational outcomes in rural Vietnam using the 1998-Vietnam Living Standard Survey. The paper finds that child labor lowers children's academic performance and the negative impact is bigger for girls.