What is it about?
We examine the impact of market-friendly "neoliberal" policies -- such as a “business friendly” regulatory environment, a reduced role for the government, and policies favoring global trade and investment -- upon a major facet of human trafficking, labor trafficking (the recruiting, transporting, or use of slave labor). We find that free-market policies (in general) as well as a neoliberal regulatory environment (in particular) are strongly related to the prevalence of trafficked labor.
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Why is it important?
While an increasing amount of attention has been devoted to human trafficking, there are surprisingly few empirical studies of the broader economic and political factors that contribute to this illicit enterprise.
Perspectives
Human trafficking is estimated to be the third largest illicit trade in the world, and has long been held as one of the "darkest sides" of the global economy. However morally repugnant, the existance of this modern-day slave trade is not due purely to the actions of a few isolated criminals. Rather, human trafficking is a "market" that reflects broader political and economic processes within the world. It is our hope that through better understanding the context that encourages this illicit trade, we can formulate more effective policies against this most egregious violation of human rights.
Robert Blanton
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Neoliberal Policies and Human Trafficking for Labor: Free Markets, Unfree Workers?, Political Research Quarterly, June 2017, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1065912917710339.
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