What Has Been the Most Significant Contributing Factor to the Abolition of Child Labor?

Child labor is a very debated and controversial topic. There are many forms of child labor but the universal view of it is that of, children being exploited through work that deprives them of education, and an overall normal childhood. Child labor is not a common thing in the west anymore but it is a common thing in other countries. A question to ask regarding child labor is: what has been the most significant contributing factor to the abolition of child labor.

Child labor exists mainly because of poverty. Children from impoverished families have to work because it is critical for their survival. The conditions of the jobs that the children work are often harsh and terrible, but these children do not have much of an option.Making a law against child labor does not exactly help because this causes more starvation, or these children turn to more horrible work options such as prostitution. Making a law against child labor is not exactly the answer. With this in mind the most significant contributing factor to the abolition of child labor is capital investment which increases labor productivity. This also increases abundance and the purchasing power which allows families to keep their children home. Capital investment helped decrease child labor in the west, which was a common throughout history until around the 20th century.

To conclude, child labor is something that has existed for centuries, and still exists in many poorer countries today. There have been many debates on how to “end,” child labor, and there have been many attempts to do so. Some of these attempts were done through laws which banned child labor, which mostly failed because these children would either starve or turn to other jobs which were much worse than the previous jobs they had. A contributing factor that has helped contribute to abolishing child labor is capital investment, which helps increase labor productivity, abundance, and the purchasing power.