The determinants of child labor in West Nusa Tenggara Province: A multilevel approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22437/ppd.v14i3.48008Keywords:
Child labor, Cultural, Demographic, Socioeconomic, West Nusa TenggaraAbstract
Child labor in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province remains a serious development issue because it reflects the continued lack of fulfillment of children’s rights to education and protection. According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the proportion of child laborers in NTB reached 5.51%, almost twice the national average. This study aims to identify the factors associated with child labor participation in the province. Data were drawn from the March 2024 National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas) and official BPS publications at the district/city level. The analytical methods included descriptive statistics and multilevel logistic regression, with 3,303 children aged 10–17 years as the units of analysis. The results indicate that, at the individual and household levels, children’s education, the education of the household head, the child’s age and gender, the number of children in the household, the marital status of the household head, and early marriage are significantly associated with the likelihood of child labor participation. At the regional level, mean years of schooling and the mean age difference between spouses are also significantly associated with children’s participation in work. Approximately 13% of the variation in child labor is attributable to differences across districts/cities. These findings suggest that policy interventions should address not only household vulnerability but also regional conditions that shape the risk of child labor.
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