Education Policy Seminar Series: Melissa "Mimi" Arnold Lyon

Join Dr. Melissa Arnold Lyon for this talk, given as part of the Education Policy Seminar series hosted by BU Wheelock's Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dept. and the Wheelock Educational Policy Center.

Topic: Everything Old Is New Again: Contemporary Child Labor, Eroding Protections, and Declining School Attendance in the U.S. Abstract: Americans tend to think of child labor in the United States as something from a bygone era. And yet, the U.S. has experienced a 400% increase in reported child labor violations over the past decade. In this two-paper series, we first examine the landscape of child labor policies in the U.S. to uncover how and why they have changed in recent decades. We show that child labor policies are much more fragmented, permissive, and variable than many Americans realize. We also demonstrate that child labor is a contested policy space with a number of states weakening their child labor protections, even as violations rise. We then examine the effect of growing demand for child labor on school attendance using a shift-share instrumental variable approach. Our findings show that increased local demand for illegal child labor leads to higher youth employment in high-violation industries, longer work hours, and lower school attendance, particularly among Black youth and youth living on farms. Results underscore the need to reevaluate labor protections and strengthen enforcement to prevent economic pressures from pulling vulnerable, young students away from school. All are welcome. The seminar series is geared towards an academic audience and will include detailed and technical discussion about methods used in the research, in addition to the policy context and implications. Events are in-person. Reception to follow. Space is limited, please RSVP. If you require parking or other logistics support, please email wheelockpolicy@bu.edu.