Understanding Human Trafficking Using Victim-Level Data

55 Pages Posted: 29 Oct 2018

See all articles by Martina Bjorkman Nyqvist

Martina Bjorkman Nyqvist

Stockholm School of Economics

Maria Kuecken

Government of the United States of America - Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Eliana La Ferrara

Bocconi University - Department of Economics

Elsa Artadi

Generalitat de Catalunya

Date Written: October 2018

Abstract

Quantitative research on human trafficking is scant due to lack of data. This study makes use of a unique survey we collected on former victims of trafficking and vulnerable women and girls in the Philippines. We start by exploring the correlates of trafficking and show that household composition (in particular the presence of older sisters) and plausibly exogenous measures of health and economic shocks predict the likelihood of being tracked. We then study the effects of trafficking on victims' intertemporal and risk preferences using entropy balancing. We find that trafficking victims are not differentially patient, but they are more risk-loving. Our novel data and findings are pertinent to the design of policies intending to prevent trafficking and reintegrate victims.

Keywords: child labor, human trafficking, Philippines, prostitution

JEL Classification: D13, D80, J47

Suggested Citation

Bjorkman Nyqvist, Martina and Kuecken, Maria and La Ferrara, Eliana and Artadi, Elsa, Understanding Human Trafficking Using Victim-Level Data (October 2018). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP13279, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3274622

Martina Bjorkman Nyqvist

Stockholm School of Economics ( email )

PO Box 6501
Stockholm, 11383
Sweden

Maria Kuecken

Government of the United States of America - Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ( email )

5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857-0001
United States

Eliana La Ferrara

Bocconi University - Department of Economics ( email )

Via Gobbi 5
Milan, 20136
Italy

Elsa Artadi (Contact Author)

Generalitat de Catalunya ( email )

Spain

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