Human trafficking has generated growing concern among both policy makers and researchers. However, research has been hampered by a lack of valid data and appropriate methods. Our study develops a macro-level social disorganization perspective which suggests that trade openness may be an important vector of human trafficking such that countries in transition between high and low levels are likely to face major challenges in controlling trafficking and will therefore be especially likely to experience high rates. Using advanced econometric methods, we confirm that there is an inverted-U relationship between trade openness and human trafficking counts.
Bo Jiang is currently pursuing his PhD at the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland. His research examines the causes and consequences of terrorism, human trafficking and maritime piracy. He is also interested in using econometric methods to overcome data limitations in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Before joining Maryland, Bo received his MS in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, MA and BA in Economics from the National University of Singapore. He works as a Research Assistant at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Reponses to Terrorism (START)
A considerable amount of research has examined European Union (EU) cross-border law enforcement, while police cooperation in regions, such as Greater China and within federal states, while often not less complicated than internationally, has rarely been the focus of research studies. This presentation aims at highlighting the usefulness of such research for both theory and practice. Police cooperation based on legally binding treaties and agreements, as well as informal police-to-police cooperation strategies is assessed in comparative perspective in five distinctly different settings: international, EU, Greater China, the Nordic Countries and Australia. The types of cooperation mechanisms that have developed in each system are analysed and crucial factors impacting on the formalisation of cross-border law enforcement strategies are defined. It can be observed that cooperation depends heavily on the political systems in each region. While it could be assumed that the highest level of formalisation can be found at the international level, this study has found the highest level of formalisation in all systems addressed in the EU. The paper aims at explaining this development and pointing out some general principles that might apply to police cooperation strategies in regions, federations, unions and internationally.