Bourdillon, Michael, Deborah Levison, William Myers, & Ben White - New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2010. 

We collaborated on writing this book to produce an updated introduction to children’s work that is comprehensive in explaining the complexities of how work relates to other aspects of children’s lives – both positively and negatively – in a variety of historical, cultural and economic settings. The book covers histories of policies relating to children’s work as well as connections with child development, schooling, and poverty. It was intended to be easy-to-read; it uses case studies to illustrate points. Although written more than ten years ago, it is still the most comprehensive introduction to the topic.

Available in print and electronically from Rutgers University Press. It is also available in many libraries.

Boyden, Jo, Birgitta Ling, & William Myers, Stockholm, Rädda Barnen & UNICEF, 2008.

Although written some time ago, this was a ground-breaking work and remains a substantial source for empirically-based consideration of the various impacts of work on children’s lives, including attention to psychological impacts. Its perspective is cross-disciplinary: the authors come from the fields of anthropology, psychology, and education, respectively. It builds on an earlier work edited by two of the authors, Boyden and Myers, Exploring alternative approaches to combatting child labour: Case studies from developing countries (UNICEF 1995)

Availability: It is not easy to obtain a print copy of this book, but it is widely available in libraries, including the United Nations Digital Library.

Liebel, Manfred, Bristol & Chicago, Policy Press, 2020.

Liebel (a sociologist) has studied and engaged with working children’s social movements for decades, particularly in Latin America. This book includes his conclusions and reflections about why “children in the Global South are often met with incomprehension even by people and organizations who claim to help them,” sometimes resulting in harm. Liebel began “to see it as an unspoken continuation of colonial subjugation and conquest.” This book makes that case.

Availability includes electronic versions.

Van Daalen, Edward, Faculté de Droit, Université de Genève: 279, 2020.

A critical account of the history of ILO policies and actions in relations to child labour, showing how they have changed over time, and not always in response to observed interests of children.

Availability: This thesis is in the process of publication, and can be obtained from the author (edward.vandaalen@unige.ch). The author presents some key points in an open access journal article: (2019) ‘The ILO’s Shifts in Child Labour Policy: Regulation and Abolition’, International Development Policy, 11(2), 133–150. https://doi.org/10.4000/poldev.3056

Hungerland, Beatrice, Manfred Liebel, Brian Milne, and Anne Wihstutz, Eds. London and Philadelphia, Jessica Kingsley, 2007.

A very useful collection of 24 essays, including case studies from both developed and developing countries, covering a variety of categories and situations of work. Psychological and developmental potential for harm and benefits from work are considered. The essays are strong in paying attention to the perspectives of the working children involved. There are also essays discussing theoretical approaches, research methodology, and policy.

Available from Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Lancy, David, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

The book argues against an ethnocentric Western view of a dissonance between childhood and work. It points to a variety of ways in which work can enter children’s lives - usually constructively but sometimes harmfully, with illustrations from a variety of cultures around the world. Lancy considers different levels of work, from play and basic socialisation, through various forms of family and community help to paid work and heavy labour. In the introduction he warns that in practice the boundaries between these categories of work are often blurred in practice, but he offers little on how to assess benefits and harm in particular instances of work.

Available in print and as an e-book from the publisher.

Weiner, M., Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press.

While focused on children’s work in India, and the difference between official rhetoric and reality in the 1980s, this book also includes a substantial set of historical comparisons. Weiner -- a political scientist -- reviews historical debates around child work and compulsory education from Germany, Austria, England, the United States, and Japan. These comparisons remain useful. He more briefly compares the Indian patterns to China, Taiwan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and the Indian state of Kerala. Although this book generated substantial controversy and criticism, it was profoundly influential in India in the 1990s.

Available in print and as an e-book from the publisher.

Hanson, Karl, and Olga Nieuwenhuijs, Eds, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Although not specifically on child labour, this book raises issues concerning rights that are very relevant to policy on child labour. In particular we recommend three chapters that challenge common assumptions about the relationships between children’s rights and the work they undertake. First, the opening chapter by the editors entitled “Living rights, social justice, translations” (pp. 3–25) points out that rights are largely culturally established and are much broader than what can be prescribed in legal documents. Second, the chapter by Manfred Liebel addresses “Do children have a right to work? Working children’s movements in the struggle for social justice” (pp. 225–249). Third, Karl Hanson and Arne Vandaele write on “Translating working children’s rights into international labour law” (pp. 250–272).

Available in hard copy from the publisher.

Bourdillon, Michael, In Oxford Bibliographies in Childhood Studies ed. Heather Montgomery. Oxford, 2013.

This is a substantial electronic bibliography, last updated in 2018, of works offering approaches to children’s work that diverge from the popular demand for the elimination of child labour. It is arranged along a number of linked sub-themes.

Availability: Full access requires individual or institutional subscription to Oxford Bibliographies Online. An introductory page is freely available.

Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.

A major research project on this topic was initiated at IDS, Sussex, but was brought to an abrupt close following the outbreak of the COVID pandemic. A book on the initial work is being prepared for publication in 2023. Some early papers are available on the project site.

We recommend in particular:

Sumberg, Jame,s and Rachel Sabates-Wheeler (2020). Children's work in African agriculture: Time for a rethink. Outlook on Agriculture, 2020-06-10.

Maconachie, Roy, Neil Howard, and Rosilin Bock, (2020). Theorising ‘Harm’ in Relation to Children’s Work. Institute of Development Studies, 2020-11-17.

Sabates-Wheeler, Rachel and James Sumberg (2020). Understanding Children’s Harmful Work in African Agriculture: Points of Departure. Institute of Development Studies, 2020-04

Bourdillon, Michael.

This is a 40-page summary, written in collaboration with all four authors, of the principal argument of Rights and Wrongs of Children’s Work, the first item in this list. It is freely available.

Howard, Neil and San Okyere, Eds., Open Democracy, (2015.

Section 2 (39-69), "Child labour or child work?", has six short essays published in Open democracy, in the section "Beyond Trafficking and Slavery". They cover: rights and wrongs of children’s work (Bourdillon); a criticism of the policy of protecting children from working (Myers); relationships between work, school and mobility (Boyden and Crivelo); child rights in the chocolate industry (Berlan); historical origins of the policy of eliminating child labour (Cunningham); and an innovative child labour law in Bolivia (Howard). We also recommend the editors’ introduction to the volume entitled, “Are we really saving the children?”

Freely available as PDF.

Bourdillon, Michael, Stockholm: Save the Children Sweden, 2006.

This report looks at recent (at the time of writing) research and reports on ways in which children are harmed in the workplace and their rights are violated. It points out that violence often arises in the conditions that drive children to work. Removing children from work without attending to such conditions, or any interventions that do not attend to the needs and dignity of the children, can result in further violence: indeed such removal is sometimes itself violent. It is freely available.