Full title in original language:
Economics of Human Trafficking
Education level:
University University (18+ years)Topic / subtopic:
Trafficking in persons / smuggling of migrants Defining the concept of trafficking in personsOrganized crime Models of organized criminal groupsTarget audience:
Teachers / Lecturers,
Students,
Professors
Type of resource:
Publication / Article
Languages:
English
Region of relevance:
Global
Access:
open access
Individual authors:
Elizabeth M. Wheaton Edward J. Schauer Thomas V. Galli
Publication year:
2010
Copyright holder:
© International Migration
Contact name and address:
International Migration
Contact website:
Key themes:
Links:
Short description:
This paper presents an economic model of human trafficking that encompasses all known economic factors that affect human trafficking both across and within national borders. We envision human trafficking as a monopolistically competitive industry in which traffickers act as intermediaries between vulnerable individuals and employers by supplying differentiated products to employers. In the human trafficking market, the consumers are employers of trafficked labour and the products are human beings. Using a rational‐choice framework of human trafficking we explain the social situations that shape relocation and working decisions of vulnerable populations leading to human trafficking, the impetus for being a trafficker, and the decisions by employers of trafficked individuals. The goal of this paper is to provide a common ground upon which policymakers and researchers can collaborate to decrease the incidence of trafficking in humans.