Child labor supply is related not only to poverty but also to the availability and quality of schools and opportunities in the labor market. Households are more likely to rely on child labor if parents perceive the returns to education as low, schools are not available nearby, or education is not affordable. And, in situations where returns to unskilled work are relatively high, the household could decide to involve children in economic activities.

This simple theoretical framework helps to understand how social protection and labor market programs may affect child labor. While the objectives of social protection and labor programs are to reduce poverty and improve the well-being of the poor, these programs may affect child labor through a variety of channels. Positive income effects (e.g. because of direct transfers, shortterm employment, and income from productive activities) can increase levels of school participation and lower levels of child labor if the income is raised above the subsistence threshold (Basu and Van 1998). At the same time, some programs incorporate requirements, such as explicit schooling conditions, that may lower the opportunity cost of schooling and hence further increase school attendance and lower participation in child labor.<sup>5</sup> On the other hand, some programs may produce indirect intra-household labor substitution effects that could positively or negatively affect child labor. When labor market programs increase the participation of adults in the labor market, children may take over some of the economic activities (e.g. on the household farm) and household chores previously carried out by these adults. Programs that encourage household engagement in micro-entrepreneurial activities, may increase the returns to children’s work and hence lead to an increase in child labor. Moreover, if the household is not unitary, children’s time allocation will also depend on the balance of the decision-making power within the household. To give an example, if adult female household members have a stronger preference for children’s schooling, then children’s school participation may be affected positively by factors such as female empowerment and female income generating capacity.

Our review highlights the potential channels through which diverse social programs may affect child labor to guide the discussion of their impacts on children’s allocation of time. Our goal is to understand the intended and unintended effects so that social programs can be designed to increase their potential in improving the welfare of poor households.

# **_2.3 Our Search and Presentation of Results_**

The literature search was carried out, covering EconLit, the World Bank Development Impact Evaluation Initiative (DIME), the Poverty Action Lab, the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), the Network of Networks for Impact Evaluation (NONIE), Google Scholar, and the International Initiative for Impact evaluation (3IE). The research team also drew on the extensive network of

> 5 In contexts of high rates of school enrollment prior to the intervention, requirements regarding school attendance may not alter child labor participation but only the share of children combining both school and work.

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