Child labour in the developing countries should be banned

I find the statistics very interesting and thank the proposition for sharing them with us. I would like to begin this round by asking some questions and rebutting some of the arguments proposed by my opponent. Yes some environment may be hazardous to children employees. However, would their environment be better if they cannot work to feed their families? Would extreme poverty, which also causes death and diseases, better than working to survive? Although both options are horrible, wouldn't it be better for a child to die knowing they they have at least tried to survive and worked for the lives of their loved ones than to die slowly from starvation suffering from guilt that they haven't done anything even though their younger siblings are on the verge of death and would likely die soon anyway? It is an obvious fact that accidents occur in working locations. However, aren't risks necessary to achieve advancement and development of any kind? Is working in illegal activities such as drug dealing, stealing or even murdering better than working in a mine or a factory? In order to prevent and reduce the number of children involved in horrendous activities the Pro has mentioned such as armed conflict and sex industry, children should be allowed to work in various legal industries such as manufacturing and agriculture. Since working in the sex industry and armed conflict is already illegal and condemned, banning child labour does not affect those already involved in them. Not allowing children to work in industries that would actually possess some beneficial sides such as contribute to the economy of the country, would only increase the number of children working in those areas. As for education, no matter how "free" education system are supposed to be, they do require quite a sum of money for children to attend. Indirect costs such as uniforms, books, writing utensils, transportation, lunches and even field trips. When families cannot feed themselves, they certainly do not have enough money to cut off their often only source of income and send the children to school. As for the children's achievement in school, it is very rare for children to do well when they have no food, no books and missing a variety of factors that contribute to the pursuit of knowledge. In addition, education is a long term solution. Educating children do not improve their conditions. As I mentioned, it may worsen them. The cost of providing proper educational system is too great for many developing countries to handle. Books do not save children when they are starving. Money for food does. I also question the practicality of successfully implementing the ban on most, if not all. developing countries. In this round, I will explore the economic aspect of child labour. In the research Professors Sylvain Dessy and St"phane Pallage published on the Economic Journal, they concluded that banning child labour specifically the worst kinds including drug-trafficking, underground mining, deep-sea fishing, bondage, prostitution, etc. can have harmful effect on the economy as a whole.[1] They state that when the worst forms of child labour reflect a choice, it can only be so because they pay substantially better than other forms, considered non-harmful. In this case, the research shows that the existence of a market for the worst forms of child labour helps to keep wages in the market for the "good' forms of child labour sufficiently high to help poor families finance their children's education. A ban on any form of industries will crowd all the labour resources (children) into other industries. The increase on the availability of labour source decrease the overall wages of the workers thus further incapacitating the ability for the family to survive and send their children to schools. I am not arguing that extreme industries should be encouraged and good. Rather, I am merely pointing out that these industries are integrated into the economy in developing countries and that simply banning these would have no or adverse effects. Instead of banning child labour, I believe that measures to alleviate poverty such as the food-for-education programme are more effective and efficient in improving the lives of the children. [1] http://www.res.org.uk...