Kids and Commerce

Abstract

Analysts have frequently neglected children's economic activities as peripheral and/or morally threatening, but recent work has challenged both characterizations. Direct observation of children's participation in production, distribution and consumption reveals their extensive and consequential involvement in the economy. The organization, meaning and consequences of children's economic activity vary significantly among three different sets of social relations: with other household members, with agents of organizations outside households and with other children. A review of exemplary studies identifies an extensive agenda for new child-centered studies of production, distribution and consumption.