Costs and benefits of eliminating child labour in Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this research is to calculate the economic costs and benefits of the elimination of child labor in Brazil. The framework focuses on three sources of cost: the cost of providing education to all children in lieu of work, the cost of program interventions to alter attitudes and practices, and the opportunity cost of eliminating this work, i.e. the value of children's labor. On the benefit side, it calculates economic gains from a more educated population and the economic advantages resulting from a healthier population, since both more widespread education and the elimination of hazardous or unsuitable work have prospective health benefits. The costs obtained are close to seven billion dollars PPP and the benefits is more than thirty five billion dollars PPP. It is clear from the results that benefits outweigh the costs.