Explaining Destination Countries of Human Trafficking with Factors Relevant to Traffickers

Abstract

Awareness of human trafficking is increasing. This thesis aims to deepen our understanding of why traffickers prefer some countries over others as destination countries for their victims. Existing studies tend to neglect two elements when researching international human trafficking: factors that appeal to traffickers themselves and the significance of the country’s role in the international network as a destination country (rather than a source or transit country). In this thesis, I demonstrate that drug trafficking flows, legalized prostitution, and higher levels of corruption will appeal to traffickers and make countries more likely to be destination countries. I test this using data on human trafficking flows for 83 countries from 2006 to 2010 and find evidence of drug trafficking’s impact, mixed support for my hypothesis concerning prostitution, and limited support for my hypothesis concerning corruption. These findings have important implications for those attempting to combat international human trafficking.