The Impact of Globalization on Child Labor

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Recommended: Child labor: where the issue exists and who is affected

Introduction

Child labour is a very real problem in the world today, and although it is declining, progress is happening at a slow and unequal pace. Child labour by the International Labour Organization is defined as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development (Diallo, Etienne, & Mehran, 2013, p. 2).” In the most extreme forms of child labour it could account for child enslavement, separation from their families, exposure to serious hazards and illnesses and being left to fend for themselves on the streets (Dinopoulos & Zhao, 2007). In order for certain types of work to be included as “child labour” depends on the child’s age, the type of work, the hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives by individual countries (United Nations, 2013).

Child labour is not a new phenomenon; it has been practiced all over the world in different stages of history. Although child labour is decreasing, it is still prevalent in the developing world. Therefore child labour itself is not increasing but rather the awareness and concern for this issue. One reason for this is the increase of globalization in the world. Activists and academics through the use of the internet and mass media have been able to educate the global citizen about the hazards child labourers are facing in the developing world. This rise in awareness has brought together two types of people according to Basu; those who are genuinely concerned about the children in the developing world, and those individuals who partake in enforcing protectionism in developed countries (Basu, 1999).

In this paper I will argue that globalization has decreased ...

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... the UNICEF/MOWCYA Adolescent/ Youth Development Programme in Ethiopia. Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and UNICEF in Ethiopia, 1-110.

United Nations. (2013, November 22). International Convention on Child Labour. Retrieved from United Nations: http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/briefingpapers/childlabour/intlconvs.shtml

USAID. (2013, November 20). USAID Education: Ethiopia. Retrieved from United States Aid : http://www.usaid.gov/ethiopia

Weisbrot, M., Naiman, R., & Rudiak, N. (2010). Can Developing Countries Afford to Ban or Regulate Child Labor? Journal of Economic Relations, 1-10.

WHO. (2013, November 23). Hazardous Child Labor. Retrieved from World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/occupational_health/topics/childlabour/en/

Woldegiorgis, G. M. (2010). Study on Child Labour in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Human Rights Commission .

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