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General

Study Overview

Title:

Eliminating Child Labour through Economic Empowerment and Social Inclusion

Study is 3ie funded:

No

Study ID:

RIDIE-STUDY-ID-55c4ec0edb403

Initial Registration Date:

08/07/2015

Last Update Date:

08/04/2015

Study Status:

Ongoing

Abstract:

The project we evaluate encourages adult mothers of child laborers to start their own enterprise by providing them with technical training, business training, and startup capital. Women are targeted because it is hypothesized that they are less likely to be labor constrained than men. The additional income generated through women's enterprises is expected to help lower households' reliance on children's labor activities. The impact evaluation will exploit the procedure by which women are assigned to the intervention, using a regression discontinuity framework to establish the causal effect of the provision of training and startup capital on adult women's entrepreneurial activity and cascade effects on child labor.

Registration Citation:

de Hoop, J. and Rosati, F., 2015. Eliminating Child Labour through Economic Empowerment and Social Inclusion. Registry for International Development for Impact Evaluations (RIDIE). Available at: 10.23846/ridie068

Categories:

Private Sector Development
Social Protection

Additional Keywords:

Secondary ID Number(s):

Principal Investigator(s)

Name of First PI:

Jacobus de Hoop

Affiliation:

ILO

Name of Second PI:

Furio Rosati

Affiliation:

ILO

Intervention

Intervention Overview

Intervention:

The intervention package we study consists of three components designed to help the mothers of child laborers start a small enterprise. First, eligible women are offered the opportunity to participate in a vocational training course. Women choose the topic of the training course from a "menu" of about 10 to 20 courses. The content of the "menu" differs somewhat by canton and was established based on an assessment of the local economic situation and local needs. Women who successfully completed the vocational training course were offered a business training course and were helped in the preparation of a business plan. Finally, conditional on successfully completing the business training course and the business training plan, participating women received a starting kit based on the needs identified in the business plan to kick-start the enterprise (value between US$ 100 and US$ 300). The intervention we study was implemented in rural areas of the country. It was implemented by the national public organization responsible for vocational training together with various local NGOs. Implementation started in the second half of 2012

Theory of Change:

Multiple Treatment Arms Evaluated?

No

Intervention Timing

Intervention or Program Started at time of Registration?

Yes

Start Date:

10/01/2012

End Date:

06/30/2015

Evaluation Method

Evaluation Method Overview

Primary (or First) Evaluation Method:

Regression discontinuity

Other (not Listed) Method:

Additional Evaluation Method (If Any):

Difference in difference/fixed effects

Other (not Listed) Method:

Method Details

Details of Evaluation Approach:

The impact evaluation aims to identify the causal effect of the intervention on adult females' participation in productive activities and children's participation in child labor. To identify a credible comparison group, the impact evaluation will exploit the fact that the intervention was assigned on the basis of a wealth index. The poorest households (i.e. the households in the lower half of the wealth distribution) were assigned to the intervention group. The richest households (i.e. the households in the upper half of the wealth distribution) did not receive the intervention and constitute our control group. By comparing intervention and control households close to the threshold that separates the comparatively poor intervention households and the comparatively rich control households, we identify the (local) impact of the program. See uploaded analysis plan for more information.

Outcomes (Endpoints):

Primary outcome variables: *Adult females' participation in economic activities *Adult females' participation in their own or household business *Children's involvement in child labor (as defined in national legislation). A detailed overview of the national definition of child labor is provided in the attached document entitled "Annex 3, Measurement of Child Labor". The attached pre-analysis plan describes in detail how we plan to operationalize the national definition of child labor using on the survey data for the impact evaluation. Secondary outcome variables are described in more detail in the uploaded analysis plan.

Unit of Analysis:

Households (adult women and children within households)

Hypotheses:

Primary hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: the intervention increased eligible women's participation in economic activities. Hypothesis 2: the intervention increased the probability that eligible women participate in a household owned business or that they run their own business Hypothesis 3: the intervention lowered the probability that children engage in child labor As described in more detail in the uploaded analysis plan, secondary outcome variables will be examined to understand why we confirm (or not) these hypotheses

Unit of Intervention or Assignment:

Households

Number of Clusters in Sample:

Number of Individuals in Sample:

2098 households

Size of Treatment, Control, or Comparison Subsamples:

1098 households in the treatment group and 1000 households in the control group

Data

Outcomes Data

Description:

The impact evaluation will rely on three sources of data: a baseline household survey, a follow-up household (and child) survey, and data collected to monitor beneficiaries' participation in the project interventions. Baseline data were collected from the 2098 households in the sample in May of 2012. Follow-up data collection (from households and children) started on July 4, 2015.

Data Already Collected?

No

Data Previously Used?

Data Access:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Approval Process:

Approval Status:

Treatment Assignment Data

Participation or Assignment Information:

Yes

Description:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Previously Used?

Data Access:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Approval Process:

Approval Status:

Data Analysis

Data Analysis Status:

Study Materials

Upload Study Materials:

Registration Category

Registration Category:

Prospective, Category 1: Data for measuring impacts have not been collected

Completion

Completion Overview

Intervention Completion Date:

Data Collection Completion Date:

Unit of Analysis:

Clusters in Final Sample:

Total Observations in Final Sample:

Size of Treatment, Control, or Comparison Subsamples:

Findings

Preliminary Report:

Preliminary Report URL:

Summary of Findings:

Paper:

Paper Summary:

Paper Citation:

Data Availability

Data Availability (Primary Data):

Date of Data Availability:

Data URL or Contact:

Access procedure:

Other Materials

Survey:

Survey Instrument Links or Contact:

Program Files:

Program Files Links or Contact:

External Link:

External Link Description:

Description of Changes:

Study Stopped

Date:

Reason: