American Economic Review Vol. 96 No. 5 2006

Child Labor and the Labor Supply of Other Household Members: Evidence from 1920 America

Marco Manacorda

Department of Economics, Queen Mary University of London, CEP, and STICERD, London School of Economics, Centre for Economic Performance, Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE, London, UK.

Abstract

This paper exploits the variation in the legal minimum working age across states in 1920 America in order to identify households' labor supply responses to exogenous changes in children's labor force participation. Using micro data on urban households from the U.S. Census, I find evidence that as a child moves to the labor market his siblings are less likely to work and more likely to attend school. I find no significant effect on parents' labor supply.

DOI

10.1257/aer.96.5.1788

Volume

96

Issue

5

Pages

1788-1801

Language

en

Sources

bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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