The Effects of Fair Trade on Child Labor

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K20143
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0107:Economics, business administration, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kobe International University
• Principal Investigator: Strelchenko Olga 神戸国際大学, 経済学部, 講師 (10907893)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-08-30 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: child labor / fair trade / fair-trade premium / local infrastructure / small open economy / fair-trade wage / フェアトレード / 児童労働

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research project employs a theoretical analysis to assess the potential of fair trade (FT) as a solution to the problem of child labor in developing countries. The analysis reveals that while the global price of an FT good contributes to the number of FT households, it also increases the total working hours of children in a developing country. Conversely, an increase in the FT wage has the opposite effect. The FT premium, which is used to develop local infrastructure, has the effect of reducing the total number of children’s working hours when the proportion of non-FT households is relatively low. However, this condition is relaxed when the supply of child labor is inelastic, which is relevant to low-income countries.

Free Research Field

international trade (国際貿易論)

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

児童労働は発展途上国において大きな問題であり、その対策の一つとして、フェアトレード(FT)があげられている。しかし、FT企業が大人の労働者だけを雇用したとしても、存在する非FT企業がより多くの児童を雇用するようになれば、むしろ児童労働の問題を悪化させる可能性がある。本研究成果は、児童労働の供給と需要を考慮し、FTが児童労働に及ぼす効果を理論的に分析し、具体策を提供するものである。