Econ-Atrocity Bulletins

By Sevinc Rende, UMass Amherst Department of Economics

Child labor was once considered a problem of the past, but with 186 million children working as laborers across the world, it is very much a problem of today. Activists, the media, academics, and those discussing labor standards in international institutions have all played a part in creating awareness around this issue.

Around 110 million of child laborers - almost 60% - are under the age of twelve. More than half of all child laborers work with hazardous chemicals or in confined spaces. The Asia-Pacific region harbors the most child laborers in terms of absolute numbers, but the sub-Saharan Africa has the highest percentage of its children at work. Yet, if 129 nations have agreed to the elimination of child labor, why is child labor so widespread? What do we actually know about these children and their economic circumstances? As a result of decade long research and data collection, today we can outline broadly what we know about the world’s child laborers.
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By Brenda Wyss, CPE Staff Economist

Jamaica is hemorrhaging nurses and teachers. The Jamaica Gleaner reports that Jamaica loses roughly 8% of its RNs and more than 20% of its specialist nurses annually. Most go to the US or the UK. The US, with 97.2 nurses per 10,000 people, actively recruits nurses from Jamaica, a country with only 11.3 nurses per 10,000 people. Meanwhile, US and British schoolteacher work programs recruit Jamaican teachers for inner city schools in New York City and London. In 2001 alone, 3% of Jamaica’s teachers (almost 500 educators) left the island to accept temporary assignments abroad. Jamaica’s Ministry of Education estimates the country
lost 2,000 teachers between 2000 and 2002. And Jamaica’s brain drain is not limited to nurses and teachers. In fact, an IMF report estimates that more than 60% of all Jamaicans with tertiary education have migrated to the US.

Jamaica’s chronically under-resourced health and education sectors can ill afford the loss of skill. In its 2001 Annual Report, Jamaica’s Ministry of Health reported nationwide vacancy rates of 37% for RN positions, 28% for public health nurses, 17% for nurse practitioners, and 61% for assistant nurses. At the same time, a shortage of trained teachers threatens educational quality. While Jamaica has trained increasing numbers of teachers over the years, the fraction of teachers serving in Jamaica’s schools who are fully trained has declined. Between the 1990-91 and 1996-97 school years, the total share of trained teachers decreased by 11%.
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