Is child labour caused by poverty?
Yes, poverty is one cause of child labour, but child labour is also a cause of poverty. “Child labour is not only a by-product of poverty, it also generates poverty….. The argument that child labour can’t be eliminated until poverty is eliminated reverses cause and effect and provides an excuse for tolerating child labour. Ending child labour is a way out of poverty.” (Pharis J. Harvey). Child labour causes poverty because when a child is employed, it displaces an adult from that job, and also drives down adult wages in that industry or region. When children work, they are denied an education and so have no chance of escaping from poverty. Illiterate child labourers usually become poverty-stricken, illiterate adults who in turn have to send their children out to work, and so perpetuate this cycle of poverty. 5. Won’t high economic growth through globalisation solve the problem? Child labour has increased due to globalisation. Globalisation has created the potential for immense econom
