The Effect of Local Crime on Child Marriage, School Dropout, and Employment Outcomes: A Gender Perspective from India

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A pressing current concern in India is how the benefits of its high economic growth may be distributed equitably, leading to poverty alleviation, a reduction in inequalities between different groups in society and an increased economic participation resulting in further economic growth. However, it has become increasingly clear that India has experienced various difficulties in linking economic growth to these desirable outcomes and risks a significant stalling in economic development if these issues are not addressed.Key issue amongst these is the economic and social status of women in Indian society which affects their human capital development and participation in the labour market, particularly the formal labour market (Afridi et al., 2018; Klasen, 2017). Discussion has centred on the existing evidence of less economic opportunities for women, and increasing income of male members of households. However, the relevance of school to marriage or work transition and how it is affected by cultural norms have not been given much attention in the discussion. The proposed research will draw upon previous IAA NGO data funding received in 2018 which examined the NGO held data to understand the issue of child labour in India. This funding allowed the PI to develop links with the Indian NGO, Child Rights & You (CRY), and scope the existing data held by the organisation. This scoping exercise revealed that CRY held significant, underutilised data on adolescence, with a specific focus on girls' education. The research will use this quantitative and qualitative data, combined with other official data sources, to examine how three manifestations of gender inequality: crime against women as well as gender neutral crime; child marriage; and female school drop-out, are interlinked and together inhibit female labour market participation and prevent the realisation of the benefits this has for the Indian economy.