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Highway havens for hidden horrors: Expressway connections and child trafficking in China

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Xinyan
  • Bai, Yu
  • Li, Yanjun
  • Sun, Yajie
Abstract
Child trafficking is a deep-seated social issue with enduring consequences that remain concealed or less obvious to the general public. We argue that the intensity of child trafficking increases as an indirect and unintended consequence of improved urban infrastructure, such as the construction of highways that facilitate the expedient transfer of victims between cities. To establish a causal relationship, we analyze data on child abduction and combine it with geo-referenced information on China’s highway routes. Using a staggered difference-in-differences approach and a city-to-city analysis, we find that the construction of highways in a city significantly leads to an increase in abducted children. Changes in both demand and supply factors following the highway construction could explain the increase in child trafficking.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Xinyan & Bai, Yu & Li, Yanjun & Sun, Yajie, 2024. "Highway havens for hidden horrors: Expressway connections and child trafficking in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:228:y:2024:i:c:s0167268124003792
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2024.106765
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Child trafficking; Expressways; Highways; Transport infrastructure; Illegal behaviors; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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