One more argument against banning child labor

Everybody agrees that child labor is a problem, including the working child's parents. Some years ago, various groups, including the International Labour Organization, called for a ban on child labor. Yet it appears resistance to a ban is mounting, none the least due to pressure from economists who have argued that child labor is not a choice. Indeed, poverty often forces parents to send their

The industrial organization of extortion

Extortion is illegal, but still tolerated in some parts of the world. Understanding it well is key to eradicate it. Benjamin Olken and Patrick Barron have recently published a fascinating article that describes extortion at weigh stations and roadside check points in Aceh, Indonesia. They managed to record about 6000 transactions at these location by having observers ride along on trucks on the

Education, natural resources and corruption

Poor countries are cursed by corruption, low human capital and an economy mostly based on natural resources. These three factors have often been treated as exogenous to GDP and in particular to each other. But could they be linked? The correlation is certainly there, what about causation?Iván Aldave and Cecilia García-Peñalosa make the argument that the "blessing" of natural resources gives the