The cost of child quality and Its Impact on child labour
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22740510Keywords:
child labor, comprehensive protection, economic analysis of lawAbstract
Child labor is a multidimensional problem that transcends the strictly labor-related sphere and constitutes a legal, social, economic, and ethical phenomenon that affects the development of children and adolescents and
challenges the effectiveness of human rights protection systems. The objective of this study was to analyze the cost of child quality and its impact on child labor from a legal-economic perspective, explaining how the distribution
of child-rearing, education, and human capital development costs influences family decisions and the legal protection of children. Methodologically, the research was a basic legal study with a qualitative approach, based
on an analytical and interpretive documentary review comprising 27 intentionally selected documents. The design incorporated legal hermeneutics, historical analysis, comparative law, and the critical review of specialized
doctrine. The results showed that the cost of child quality constitutes an explanatory category that integrates family investment, human capital, and state co-responsibility, demonstrating that child labor is not exclusively associated with poverty, but also with institutional constraints, unequal intrafamily distribution of resources, and regulatory gaps between the Peruvian Civil Code and international standards. It is concluded that the prevention of child
labor requires the redistribution of the costs of child development through a comprehensive legal protection model that harmonizes the family economy with the rights of children and adolescents, while strengthening coordination
among law, economics, education, and human development policies.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Gerardo Francisco Ludeña-González, Henry Daniel Lazarte-Reátegui, Mónica de Lourdes Ferradas-Martinez , Liz Karla Chujutalli-Flores, Juan Pablo Olano-Tantalean, Gerardo Ludeña-Manco

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