Child labour as a response to shocks: evidence from Cambodian villages

The paper analyzes the effect of different shocks on household decisions concerning children's involvement in work and school in rural Cambodia. The authors assess the differential impact of three different types of shocks using propensity score matching and double difference estimates extended to the case of multiple treatments. The findings indicate that household responses to shocks depend considerably on the specific type of shock encounter red. Of the three shocks considered, crop failure is the most damaging in terms of school attendance and child labor in the Cambodian context. Droughts appear far less relevant, while flooding does not seem to have any significant impact on children's work and school attendance. The findings argue for the targeting of risk management policies to the specific types of shocks most damaging to children.