Child labor and school performance in Mexico

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between child labor and school performance in mathematics in Mexican elementary and junior high school students at a national level. The analysis employs the instrumental variables method, given that the joint modeling of child labor and school performance can generate endogeneity. Even after controlling for household poverty, educational modality, and the degree of marginalization of the community, findings show that the effect of child labor on school performance is negative, regardless of whether a child is employed in a family enterprise or not, at both school levels. Analysis of gender reveals that there is evidence that this effect is more pronounced in girls than in boys.