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In this paper, using the "2005-2006 National Family Health Survey" dataset from India, we study the likelihood of a school-age child working, combining work with schooling or being idle, rather than attending school full time. Our analysis finds that with the inclusion of household chores in the child labour definition, boys are significantly more likely than girls to be full-time students and significantly less likely to be working, being idle or combining school and work. There are also significant regional differences, with children from the north-eastern states significantly more likely to be in the idle category rather than in school. The likelihood of being in the idle category is also significantly higher for older children, children with pre-school age siblings, urban children, Muslims and children from Scheduled Tribes. Finally, parental education, household wealth and land ownership are significantly and negatively correlated with the likelihood that the child is working, but land ownership does increase the risk of a child combining work and schooling.

This paper estimates the returns to education for adult male workers in regular and casual wage employment using Indian national survey data at three points in time spanning almost two decades. Both standard and augmented Mincerian wage equations are estimated using a set of human capital measures and other controls after addressing the issue of potential selection bias. This paper finds that the returns to education are significantly different for the two types of workers—while casual workers face at best flat returns to education, the returns to education for regular workers are positive and U‐shaped with respect to education levels. There is also some evidence of a widening wage gap between regular workers with graduate and primary education that could possibly be a consequence of trade liberalization and other reforms pursued during the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, using the 2005–2006 National Family Health Survey dataset from India, we study the likelihood of a school-age child working, combining work with schooling or being idle, rather than attending school full time. Our analysis finds that with the inclusion of household chores in the child labour definition, boys are significantly more likely than girls to be full-time students and significantly less likely to be working, being idle or combining school and work. There are also significant regional differences, with children from the north-eastern states significantly more likely to be in the idle category rather than in school. The likelihood of being in the idle category is also significantly higher for older children, children with pre-school age siblings, urban children, Muslims and children from Scheduled Tribes. Finally, parental education, household wealth and land ownership are significantly and negatively correlated with the likelihood that the child is working, but land ownership does increase the risk of a child combining work and schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using a probit and censored ordered probit model of school completion we identify some state-specific factors influencing primary and middle school graduation probabilities of male and female children in two north-Indian states: Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. We find that education of the parents, economic and social status of the household and the village-level factors affect the graduation probabilities differently in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Both states exhibit a common feature: females are less likely to graduate primary school and middle school, compared with the boys. We decompose the gap between male and female graduation probabilities into coefficient and characteristic effects. In both the states, the education of the parents and development of village infrastructure seem to be the most important channel of narrowing the schooling gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]