This paper, based on a quantitative empirical cross-country study, provides policy insights to the tackling of the root causes of child labour. The econometric model applied explains for a substantial proportion of the cross-country variations in child labour. The elasticities estimated would enable us to forecast the percentage change in the employment of child labour resulting from a given percentage change in any one of the explanatory variables consisting of the level of development (GNP per capita), poverty, income inequality, school enrolment, parental education, dominance of agriculture and age structure of the population. The range of policy options for combatting child labour is indeed large and the weights to be attached to the individual elements of the socio-economic policy package is clearly guided by the explanatory power of each of the above causal factors.
