Publication: Economic Shocks and Human Trafficking Risks: Evidence from IOM’s Victims of Human Trafficking Database
Date
2022-02-18
ISSN
Published
2022-02-18
Author(s)
World Bank
International Organization for Migration
Abstract
The report focuses on risk factors
that are expected to increase the vulnerability to human
trafficking from and within origin countries such as
economic shocks, measured by large, discrete changes to
export commodity prices and to GDP. It also explores the
role that institutions play through enforcing the rule of
law, providing access to justice, and implementing
anti-trafficking policies, as protective factors that could
weaken the link between economic shocks and an increase in
human trafficking. The analysis verifies that economic
shocks are significant risk factors that increase
vulnerability to human trafficking. In origin countries,
economic vulnerabilities, especially those caused by global
commodity price shocks, are strongly positively correlated
with observed cases of trafficking. For instance, the
economic shock produced by a typical decrease in export
commodity prices is associated with an increase in the
number of detected victims of trafficking of around 12
percent. The analysis suggests that good governance
institutions and particularly a commitment to the rule of
law and access to justice as well as stricter
anti-trafficking policies and social assistance can have a
limiting effect on the number of observed cases of
trafficking following economic shocks.
Citation
“World Bank; International Organization for Migration. 2022. Economic Shocks and Human Trafficking Risks : Evidence from IOM’s Victims of Human Trafficking Database. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/37261 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”