The Economic Activities of Children in a Village in Bangladesh

Abstract

From the perspective of parents in many parts of the developing world, high fertility and large numbers of surviving children may be economically rational propositions. An important consideration with respect to the micro implications of high fertility is the economic roles and productive contributions of children during the period when they are members of their parents' household and their output is controlled by parents. Preliminary findings from ongoing research in the village of Char Gopalpur in Bangladesh provide a basis for analyzing the work contribution of children to their parents' household. The results suggest that in this village, male children may become inet producers as early as age 12, compensate for their ownl cumulative conisumption by age 15, and compensate for their own and one sister's cumulative consumption by age 22. Char Gopalpur is a village in north-central Bangladesh located near the east bank of the Old Brahmaputra River. The village was selected as a study site because in terms of its economy, ecology, population density, and high fertility, it seemed not atypical of the country.1 The village had a population of 2,043 in 1976, living in 343 households, according to the census conducted at the beginning of this research. Given the land area of 312 hectares, the population density is about 6.6 persons per hectare. The age structure reflects recent high rates of population growth: almost 50 percent of the villagers are less than 15 years old. As is true for mnost of rural Bangladesh, the village depends on rice