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Abstract:
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In this paper, I develop and test a theoretical model of the predictors of contemporary slavery. The theoretical model draws from the emerging literature on human security, established in 1994 by the United Nations Human Development Report. In that report, the UN argued that human security overlaps along seven dimensions-economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, personal security, community security, and political security. Moreover, the UN argues that the human security framework can be applied to "victims of human trafficking, their protection and empowerment." In this paper, I build a dataset that includes variables along the seven dimensions of human security. I then use regression analysis to test how well these seven dimensions predict cross-national variation in forced labor and forced marriage in thirty nations. Data for these nations come from random sample surveys collected by Gallup Inc.'s World Poll. The results of this analysis shed light on the sources of contemporary slavery and can inform policy on how to best marshal resources to mitigate its prevalence.
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