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Migrant Smuggling to Europe: a Matching Model

Author

Listed:
  • Olivier CHARLOT
  • Claire NAIDITCH
  • Radu VRANCEANU

    (Université de Cergy-Pontoise, THEMA)

Abstract

This paper develops a matching model à la Pissarides (2000) to analyze the migrant smuggling market, building on the empirical evidence related to the smuggling of migrants from the Horn of Africa and the Middle East to the European region in the last decade. The model allows us to determine the equilibrium numbers of smugglers and of incoming irregular migrants as well as the total migrant welfare. Most of the coercion-based measures targeting the smugglers achieve the reduction in the number of irregular migrants and smugglers at the expense of migrants’ overall welfare. Slightly increasing legal migration opportunities has the interesting feature of drastically reducing irregular flows, without deteriorating migrants’ welfare nor increasing the total number of migrants. The model reveals that an extremely restrictive asylum policy has similar effects in terms of the flows of irregular migrants as a quite loose one, with the largest flows of irregular migrants reached for a "middle-range" policy. Finally, the stay-home incentive of generous humanitarian policies might be partially offset by higher profits and a higher smuggling activity.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier CHARLOT & Claire NAIDITCH & Radu VRANCEANU, 2022. "Migrant Smuggling to Europe: a Matching Model," THEMA Working Papers 2022-05, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    • Handle: RePEc:ema:worpap:2022-05
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    File URL: http://thema.u-cergy.fr/IMG/pdf/2022-05.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Migrant Smuggling to Europe: a Matching Model
      by Christian Zimmermann in NEP-DGE blog on 2022-04-27 04:09:39

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    1. Olivier Charlot & Claire Naiditch & Radu Vranceanu, 2024. "Smuggling of forced migrants to Europe: a matching model," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-29, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Migrant smuggling; Irregular migration; Matching model; Migrant welfare; Europe.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J46 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Informal Labor Market

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