The Ghana Living Standards Surveys (GLSS) analyzed here are vital for the planning of Ghanaian development and are commonly used and recognized as one of the most comprehensive and reliable sources of household data in the country. GLSS is carried out by the Government of Ghana and used as one of the principal means to inform policy by the government itself. GLSS is the only nationally representative household survey in Ghana that includes an employment activity module and collects information on child labor.<sup>5</sup> Data from GLSS 2005/06 covers 8,687 households (37,128 individuals) and is the latest available survey data at the time of the study and the main data source for the household survey analysis here, while data from GLSS 1998/99 covering 5,998 households (25,855 individuals) is also applied at times for comparative and robustness purposes. The surveys are stratified by region and then urban/rural location and are clustered as census enumeration areas by applying the ‘probability proportional to size’ method (for more information on the sample design and questionnaire, see GLSS 2008). While these national, cross-sectional surveys have limitations on drawing policy implications from the results at the district level, it is possible to derive conclusions and discuss policy options on a regional and national scale.

With child labor identified as the leading alternative to schooling in Ghana using GLSS household survey data, further insight into the interdependencies between child labor and schooling is gathered through an interview with the Minister of Education, Hon. Alex TetteyEnyo, on October 19th 2010. The interview allows for a more nuanced interpretation of the potential sources of child labor and helps provide further clues and narratives to try and disentangle these sources that cannot be well understood alone with household survey data, as such data forces dynamic household decisions about child labor into clear-cut quantifiable survey variables.<sup>6</sup> In addition, as part of the qualitative data collection, fifteen children and youth from two schools (one primary and one junior high school) in the capital Accra were randomly selected and interviewed after school on September 23rd and 24th 2010 using semi-structured questions and methods (see Van Evera 1997). The primary school provides services for poorer children while the junior high school for wealthier youth based on the author’s observation. While it cannot yield representative information and only represents a small sample of urban children and youth (with 51% of all Ghanaians living in urban areas in 2009) this qualitative field research is only intended to offer additional micro-level insight that at times helps enrich some of the results from the household data analysis. Names have been omitted to preserve confidentiality. Indication of field research throughout this paper, unless otherwise indicated, refers to this data collection.<sup>7</sup> In defining child labor, this paper differentiates—in line with the International Labour Organisation (2008)—between unharmful assistance with household chores and harmful child labor. The latter is defined as the employment of children under the age of 15 on a regular basis in work that conflicts with their schooling in order to make a living or

> 5 However, it is important to note that participatory observations of street children in the capital city suggest that the ‘nationally representative’ GLSS survey very likely underestimates the prevalence of child labor (see also Edmonds 2008), as GLSS collects data from households and their heads, not from children living alone on the streets who may not have parents.

> 6 In terms of the semi-structured interview with the Minister, it is important to emphasise that the views expressed reflect his subjective standpoint and not necessarily those of the Government of Ghana. Excerpts from the interview are found throughout the text (for the transcript of the interview contact the author).

> 7 The interviews conducted here target children and the Minister of Education in order to help best complement household survey data that only collects information from household heads/parents.

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