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Political and environmental risks influence migration and human smuggling across the Mediterranean Sea

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  • Kara Ross Camarena
  • Sarah Claudy
  • Jijun Wang
  • Austin L Wright

Abstract

Since 2007 the number of refugees fleeing conflict and violence has doubled to more than 25 million. We leverage high frequency data on migration, sea conditions, and riots to investigate how political and environmental risks influence migration and human smuggling across the Mediterranean Sea. We report results from two observational studies. A high frequency time-series study demonstrates that risks alter migration patterns. An event study design demonstrates the effectiveness of a policy intervention that targeted Libyan militias engaged in human smuggling. The results highlight the important role of environmental and political risks in transit countries and their implications for migration and human smuggling.

Suggested Citation

  • Kara Ross Camarena & Sarah Claudy & Jijun Wang & Austin L Wright, 2020. "Political and environmental risks influence migration and human smuggling across the Mediterranean Sea," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0236646
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236646
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Katherine Hoffmann Pham & Junpei Komiyama, 2022. "Strategic Choices of Migrants and Smugglers in the Central Mediterranean Sea," Papers 2207.04480, arXiv.org.
    2. Renner, Laura & Schmid, Lena, 2023. "The decision to flee: Exploring gender-specific determinants of international refugee migration," Discussion Paper Series 2023-01, University of Freiburg, Wilfried Guth Endowed Chair for Constitutional Political Economy and Competition Policy.

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