Socio-Economic Analyses of Child Labor: An Empirical Study from Ghana

Abstract

The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Four is purported to ensure the survival (During pregnancy and post-delivery) and uninterrupted growth of the child till adolescence. However, the surge in child labor is rendering attainment of this goal quiet cumbersome. This study focused on Socio-economic Analysis of Child-labor in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. The study deployed a descriptive research design. Target populations were school going age children between 7-15 years. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select 100 of these children to share their plight. Secondary data were obtained from ILO reports, Seer cite and Google Scholar. Primary data were gathered with structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 21 and Microsoft excel. The study revealed that the most prevalence forms of child-labor were child-trafficking and forced labor. The survey discovered that 49.0% of child labour is caused by parental illiteracy, 31.0% which is caused by unemployment of elders or fathers, 12.0% is caused by the death of child parents (orphan) and the least (8.0%) of child labour is  caused by poverty. Respondent's monthly honorariums range from GHc 50-500 majority live in rented houses. These children are supposed to work averagely 10hours per day though others work longer. Supports do sometimes come from NGOs and Media. Chi-square fitness of good test revealed that there was a significant association between the ethnicity of the respondents and their nature of work (χ2 -value = 65.09, df =8 p-value<0.05), moreover there was an association between the age of the respondents and their nature of work (χ2 -value = 78.98, df =12 p-value<0.05). Also, there was an association between the gender of the respondents and their nature of work. (χ2 -value = 24.8 df =4 p-value<0.05). Policy reinforcement is highly recommended.