Child Labour Author:Alec Fyfe This disturbing new study provides a sharp and wide-ranging analysis of the economic exploitation of children. The author shows that child labour is not only a widespread phenomenon in the poorer, developing countries, but also an integral part of modern industrial societies in the West and in Eastern Europe: the idea that child labour has been ... more »eradicated in modern industrial societies is a myth. Alec Fyfe examines the economic and social conditions under which child labour flourishes in the USA, Britain, Europe, Central and South America and India. He looks at exploitation in the cities and in the country, and the impact of urbanization on patterns of child labour. Other areas discussed include the growth of child prostitution, the phenomenon of street children, child soldiers, and the impact of world recession on children's lives. The author discusses the role of international organizations such as the International Labour Organization and UNICEF in establishing international rights for children and in forming conceptions of what childhood should be. Fyfe concludes by calling for an overall anti-poverty strategy to combat world-wide exploitation, of which child labour is one particularly horrific aspect. This important work sets the agenda for debate in this area and will be of interest to anyone working in the area of social work, child welfare, development studies and international politics. It is aimed at students and researchers in development studies, sociology, social policy and administration, social work, child welfare, public policy and international law, general readers as well.« less