Child Labor in Peru and Pakistan

Child labor is a significant issue which influences the growing of child in the world especially in the developing and the backward countries. According to the paper of Ranjan Ray, the history and the condition of child labor no matter in which area in the world are introduced at the beginning of the paper. The Industrial Revolution was regarded as the beginning of the affair of child labor because of the massive production result from the plenty machines. In developing countries, some children have to earn money and release the burden of their families. Still, the difference of the condition of child labor in Peru and Pakistan, between adult male and female, and between adult and child are analyzed through listing amount of data. Besides, Ray still promotes the Luxury Hypothesis and the Substitution Hypothesis which describes from the angle of the economy and their role. Generally speaking, the child labor condition in Peru is better than it in Pakistan which can be reflected from the rate of employment and schooling.

First and foremost, the rate of children who give up their right to education and participate in the job in Pakistan is increasing. This situation results from series of reasons such as the economy condition. Obviously, the structure of the economy of a country determined by the comprehensive national strength which supported by technology. A great number of developing countries in the convenience geography location such as Pakistan earn money from the big order of other developed countries. It needs the amount of labor to fulfill these orders in time. Also, more and more families could not support themselves as the series of children. Hence, children labors do not have the choice to work in factories with lower wages. This situation is described by Ray as a luxury hypothesis that “a family will send the children to the labor market only if the family’s income from non-child labor sources drops very low.” (Ray 5)

Moreover, the rate of enrolling in Peru is higher than it in Pakistan which can be reflected from the tables in the paper. It has the relationship with the producing model and the culture of Peru. First, the agriculture is the main support for the receiving of a family in Peru. Families work together to maintain the receiving. “The coefficient of the household expenditure variable is negative and highly significant in Peru.” (Ray 7) Second, different from Pakistan, the number of Peruvian who has religion is not greater. However, children from an ethnic minority group are increasingly attended to work in Peru.

It is time to make a conclusion. The issue of child labor could not slip up the relationship with the poverty of the country. Peru and Pakistan are both the less developed countries in the South America and Asia. Child labor is needed to make a contribution to the producing and to support their families. However, the difference of the economy mood and the culture of the two countries lead to the different degrees of the child labor in Peru and Pakistan. According to the paper, the condition of child labor in Peru is better than Pakistan.