Template-type: ReDif-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Tang, Can
Author-Name: Zhao, Zhong
Title: Informal institution meets child development
Abstract: Using a national representative sample, the China Family Panel Studies,<br/>this paper explores the influences of clan culture, a hallmark of<br/>Chinese cultural history, on the prevalence of child labor in China. We<br/>find that clan culture significantly reduces the incidence of child<br/>labor and working hours of child laborer. The results exhibit strong boy<br/>bias, and are driven by boys rather than girls, which reflects the<br/>patrilineal nature of Chinese clan culture. Moreover, the impact is<br/>greater on boys from households with lower socioeconomic status, and in<br/>rural areas. Clan culture acts as a supplement to formal institutions:<br/>reduces the incidence of child labor through risk sharing and easing<br/>credit constraints, and helps form social norms to promote human capital<br/>investment. We also employ an instrument variable approach and carry out<br/>a series of robustness checks to further confirm the findings.
Classification-JEL: j21,j22,j81,o15
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 20221010
Number: 2022-032
File-URL: https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ws/files/110000801/wp2022_032.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 940783
Handle: Repec:unm:unumer:2022032
DOI: