Migration as a business: the case of trafficking

"A case is made for treating international migration as a global business which has both legitimate and illegitimate sides.... The article focuses on migrant trafficking, the core of the illegitimate business.... Our model conceives of trafficking as an intermediary part of the global migration business facilitating movement of people between origin and destination countries.... The model also suggests how through the existence of common routes and networks of contacts, traffickers increasingly channel migrants, thus determining the geography of movement. We also demonstrate the model with available evidence on trafficking mainly in and across Europe and attempt thereby to show how trafficking operates both theoretically and in practice." (EXCERPT)