Heissler, K. and Porter, C. (2013) “Know your place: Ethiopian children’s contributions to the household economy,” The European Journal of Development Research, 25(4), pp. 600–620.
The paper examined the role of children in the household economy in Ethiopia in order to better understand the evolution of intra-household work allocation particularly in response to shocks, and the relationship between girls and boys’ work. The authors looked at how households, including those with children, changed their roles and responsibilities in response to the shifts occurring in both rural and urban Ethiopia in agriculture, access to education, and the implementation of the national safety net program (PSNP). Qualitative and quantitative data analysis was used to address the research questions about the influences on work roles in the home, family members’ appreciation of children’s contributions, and the dynamics in the home environment.
Both the children and their caregivers/parents were very similar in their beliefs that children have many duties in the home. The vast majority of children work for the family in addition to attending school. Only 3% of children don’t do any work at all, whether it’s paid or unpaid or household chores. About half of children are employed by the family farm or business. Under 5% of children work for pay, which is a very low percentage. Although multitasking activities were not evaluated by quantitative data analysis, it is evident in quantitative scripts that children frequently multitask; such as by working while simultaneously caring for younger siblings.
The factors that impact the division of household labour are household composition, birth order, sibling composition, gender and age. Due to these factors, girls and boys are often burdened with heavier responsibilities than other family members, and older girls frequently have more work to do than their younger sisters and brothers. Another observation was the fact that adults in some households, especially those with elderly parents or only one parent, rely heavily on the labour contributions of both paid and unpaid children’s work.
After analysing the parents’ recognition of their children’s work activities, Heissler and Porter explored the characteristics that shaped work roles within the household. The authors highlighted the significance of these findings for the design of social protection programs with labour requirements, such as the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) in Ethiopia. They emphasised the need for a more insightful understanding of children and work in Ethiopia as well as an increased acknowledgment of the way the household composition and sibling relationships affects household interdependence.