Ethnic Fragmentation, Conflict, Displaced Persons and Human Trafficking: An Empirical Analysis

Citation:

Akee, Randall K. Q., Arnab K. Basu, Nancy H. Chau, and Melanie Khamis. 2010. "Chapter 28: Ethnic Fragmentation, Conflict, Displaced Persons and Human Trafficking: An Empirical Analysis." In Migration and Culture (Frontiers of Economics and Globalization, Volume 8), edited by Gil S. Epstien and Ira N. Gang, 691-716. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Authors: Randall K. Q. Akee, Arnab K. Basu, Nancy H. Chau, Melanie Khamis

Abstract:

Ethnic conflicts and their links to international human trafficking have recently received a surge in international attention. It appears that ethnic conflicts exacerbate the internal displacement of individuals from networks of family and community, and their access to economic and social safety nets. These same individuals are then vulnerable to being trafficked by the hopes of better economic prospects elsewhere. In this chapter, we empirically examine this link between ethnic fragmentation, conflicts, internally displaced persons, refugees, and international trafficking, making use of a novel dataset of international trafficking. We conduct a direct estimation, which highlights the ultimate impact of ethnic fragmentation and conflict on international trafficking through internal and international displacements.

Keywords: internally displaced people, ethnic conflict, human trafficking, economics, ethnic fragmentation, refugees

Topics: Armed Conflict, Ethnic/Communal Wars, Displacement & Migration, IDPs, Refugees, Economies, Ethnicity, Gender, Trafficking, Human Trafficking

Year: 2010