The impact of migration on child labour: Theory and evidence from Brazil

This chapter investigates the impact of internal migration on child labour outcomes in Brazil. In our model, migration impacts child labour through changes in the local labour market, which is made up of both adults and children. We exploit variation in the concentration of both skilled and unskilled immigrants at the municipality level and employ an IV strategy that relies on the historical (1980) distribution of immigrants within the country. Our results show that internal migration of a given skill level has a negative impact on corresponding adults’ labour market outcomes. We also find that unskilled (skilled) immigration has a negative (positive) and significant impact on child labour. Finally, unskilled immigration increases children’s school attendance and decreases their likelihood of being idle.