The Use of Human Trafficking Detection Data for Modelling Static and Dynamic Determinants of Human Trafficking Flows
Trafficking in persons is a crime that poses exceptional challenges when it comes to measurement. For this reason, the literature on trafficking has only recently developed a set mass of quantitative estimates, although this remains insufficient to conduct studies at an international level. This lac...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2022
|
| In: |
European journal on criminal policy and research
Year: 2022, Volume: 28, Issue: 4, Pages: 483-501 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | Trafficking in persons is a crime that poses exceptional challenges when it comes to measurement. For this reason, the literature on trafficking has only recently developed a set mass of quantitative estimates, although this remains insufficient to conduct studies at an international level. This lack of data has limited the possibility for quantitative studies and in particular the development of statistical models. Statistical models are extensively used in other social sciences to identify determinants that may increase or reduce the severity of a social phenomenon. This paper suggests the use of official administrative statistics on detected victims of trafficking in persons to develop quantitative models on human trafficking flows. The methodological approach suggested in this paper allows for identifying the factors explaining why certain countries—and not others—are relevant origins of trafficking flows into selected destination countries. These factors are found to be geographical distance to selected destinations, population size and level of organised crime. This result is in line with the few other quantitative studies on the determinants of trafficking, mainly framed in static gravity models. In addition, this paper proposes a dynamic approach to the determinants of trafficking flows. Trafficking flows change over time, and the relevance of certain places of origin may increase or decrease according to certain factors. This study flags variations in unemployment and national wealth in countries of origin as two factors affecting outflows of human trafficking. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1572-9869 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10610-020-09460-5 |