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Human trafficking and migration control policy: vicious or virtuous cycle?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2012

Nazli Avdan
Nazli Avdan*
Affiliation:
Political Science, University of Oxford, UK
*
Nazli Avdan Political Science University of Oxford University College, High Street Oxford OX1 4BH United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1865 276667 Fax: +44 (0)1865 276790 Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between states’ migration control policies and human trafficking in origin, transit and destination states. Using cross-sectional data on states’ visa policies for 192 states and indicators for human trafficking from the Global Patterns report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the paper analyses feedback mechanisms between policies and trafficking. The empirical evidence suggests that, contrary to the pessimistic predictions of policy scholarship, the feedback is characterised by a virtuous mechanism. Firstly, the results show that, in line with expectations of security studies, states tighten visa policies in response to trafficking threats. Origin and transit states face a greater number of restrictions on travel. Similarly, destination states of trafficking impose tighter controls. Secondly, visa restrictions against origin and transit countries mitigate trafficking from and through these states. Finally, the paper demonstrates that the vicious effect whereby stricter policies exacerbate trafficking pertains mostly to destination states’ visa policies and to visas imposed at borders.

Keywords

human traffickinginternational migrationorganised crimepolicy feedbackreciprocityvisa policies
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , December 2012 , pp. 171 - 205
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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