child labour use in a small developing country: is it luxury, distributional or substitution axiom?

Child labour use in developing countries has been increasing over the years. In general, it’s characterized by low wages and long hours of work under dangerous, hazardous, unhealthy and unhygienic conditions, which could lead to poor physical and mental development. It deprives a child of education and natural development. In this paper, we examined the use of child labour in Fiji. The study utilized primary data collected using a structured survey to examine the determinants of child labour. The results from this study demonstrate that the variables such as household size, household income, and the gender of children significantly affect child labour supply. Furthermore, absence of adults from households is also a causal factor contributing towards child labour. Using these results, we make a case for “luxury” and “substitution” axioms for Fiji’s Child labour market.