Child Labor in Africa

Question: What are the major cause of child labour in Africa. select 3 source that will be most useful to you in making this argument. also write a concise summary of each source followed by a short explanation of how this source will contribute on you argument. Answer: Bass, L. E. (2004). Child labor in sub-Saharan Africa. Lynne Rienner Publishers. In this article Bass (2014) addresses his concerns regarding child labor that is prevalent in the sub-Saharan Africa. The article details about the need to study the concept. A detailed report on how the cultural background and the history of the place effects the conception of child labor is given. The report talks about how the triple heritage of Africa has influenced the existence of child labor. The effects of economy on child labor is also discussed with examples of large debt payoffs, AIDS pandemic and so on. A comparison of the rural and urban child labor is made in tabular and map formats to understand the child labor market. A clear discussion on how education and work are the push and pull factors for children in Africa is done by analyzing the literacy rates of children and children workforce percentage. The report also encompasses the analysis of various reports from International Labor Organization and United Nations Higher Commissioner of refugees to examine cases of or phans who take up child labor to fulfill daily needs. Bs, M., Hatly, A. (2008). Child labour in West Africa: Different workdifferent vulnerabilities. International Migration, 46(3), 3-25. The article is a detailed analysis of several surveys conducted in several regions of West Africa to understand the child labor situation. The article has its data based on the war effected children of Voinjama district, children from the alluvial diamond production site, street children from Accra and Bamako. The article compares the child labor situation in each of the above mentioned geographies to understand the economic reasons that lead to child labor. The article states steep school fees and adverse poverty as the main reasons for child labor and provides a detailed understanding on how the war-affected areas have better school attendance compared to areas with high population of street children. Canagarajah, S., Nielsen, H. S. (2001). Child labor in Africa: A comparative study. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 575(1), 71-91. This article by Canagarajah (2001) has analysis the key factors that cause the increase of child labor in Africa. A research undertaken on five African countries is the base for the entire discussion. An understanding as how the most common factor for child labor tends to be poverty is detailed. An understanding on how the economically backward areas have a much higher rate of child labor is provided in the report. However, the author analysis several other factors that are generally overseen, that are indeed great contributors for child labor. The author argues how apart from poverty the cost of education and the related prices effect child labor. The author details the influence of the school fees of primary education, transportation cost, books cost etc. on child labor making these factors a major reason for not sending children to school. The report also highlights minor how capital markets and household composition support child labor.