Child work in agricultural activities and school attendance: evidence from Egypt

Amr Abdelwahed, Cairo University
Hesham Makhlouf, Cairo Demographic Center
Said Khater, Cairo University
Bothaina El-Deeb, Cairo Demographic Center

The aim of this paper is to examine the determinants of child working in agricultural activities and schooling of children aged 6-17 years using data from a survey based in rural Egypt. Using Multinomial logit model to estimate the determinants of child work and schooling decision by using four categories "studying only", "combining schooling and work"," working in agriculture activities" and "doing nothing". The results reveal some support for the hypothesis that poverty forces households to keep their children away from school. If the household located in a lower quintile of wealth index, it raises the probability that a child will work for full time or combine work with studying. The significant and positive gender coefficient of child suggests that boys are more likely to combine schooling with work than girls. The results obtained in this paper are of interest to policy makers seeking to design policies that increase school attendance and reduce child labor.