‘Our daily bread comes from rocks’: The livelihood struggles of children at a quarry in Pokuase, Ghana

Abstract

Children’s economic production has become an important survival strategy for households living below subsistence levels. The literature on child labour tends to portray children as passive and inactive agents in decisions relating to their participation in work. Using data from in-depth interviews, the study examines decisions relating to children’s participation in work, and the role that agency plays in children’s participation in work. The study found that although children are sometimes compelled by adults to work, they are active and strategic agents in labour market activities, as well as in decision making processes involving their participation in work and family welfare. Findings have implications for economic theories explaining child labour, and rights-based approaches to children’s participation in work.

Key words: labour market, economic survival, agency, participation