Children living and working away from home are some of the most vulnerable in
society. Parents, family, friends, and home communities provide protections that reduce a
child’s susceptibility to abuse, exploitation, and the consequences of bad or poorly
informed decisions. This chapter reviews the nascent literature on the prevalence, causes,
and consequences of independent child labor migration. Measurement challenges have
constrained progress on understanding this phenomenon. There is considerable scope for
future research to transform how we think about issues related to the millions of children
living and working away from their parents.