Informal institution meets child development: Clan culture and child labor in China

Using a national representative sample, the China Family Panel Studies,
this paper explores the influences of clan culture, a hallmark of
Chinese cultural history, on the prevalence of child labor in China. We
find that clan culture significantly reduces the incidence of child
labor and working hours of child laborer. The results exhibit strong boy
bias, and are driven by boys rather than girls, which reflects the
patrilineal nature of Chinese clan culture. Moreover, the impact is
greater on boys from households with lower socioeconomic status, and in
rural areas. Clan culture acts as a supplement to formal institutions:
reduces the incidence of child labor through risk sharing and easing
credit constraints, and helps form social norms to promote human capital
investment. We also employ an instrument variable approach and carry out
a series of robustness checks to further confirm the findings.