Effect of cropland and livestock ownership on child labour in eastern Ethiopia: empirical examination of the Wealth Paradox

Abstract The study examined the relationship between child labour participation and household wealth (in terms of livestock and cropland) considering representative sample smallholders from four (Kurfa Chelie, Kersa, Fedis, and Melka Bello) districts in eastern Hararghe Zone of Oromia regional state of Ethiopia. The descriptive statics showed that average family size was 5.45 individuals per household, which was larger than the national average (4.9) in 2016. In the study area, children with age interval of 4–14 years, that were the subject matter of this study, constituted 43.3% of the total population. Around 23% of sampled households spent less than 2471.22 Birr per annum per adult equivalent for home consumption, which is an amount based on the inflation adjusted poverty line. Households in Fedis district experienced the worst poverty head count score, wherein 44% of them could not satisfy the minimum living standard requirement. Double-hurdle model result revealed that livestock and cropland holding of smallholders significantly affect child labour participation in domestic work. This finding implies that household’s asset ownership (possession of larger livestock and cropland) would not initiate children to budget more time for their education. The model result also showed that household head’s education level significantly reduced children’s domestic labour participation in the study area. Thus, this research recommended that there should be improvement in households’ education and awareness level in the study area to improve child school enrolment. Finally, it is easy to say that the Wealth Paradox about child labour holds true for smallholders in eastern Ethiopia.