draining development.pdf - Khazar University

Human Trafficking and International Financial Flows 191territoriality. The final distribution of drugs requires the control of aterritory in a way that is not required in human trafficking. 10 Furthermore,the fact that drugs concentrate great value in a small volume createsa singular opportunity because it is possible to steal the stock ofdrugs from a dealer. It is impossible or, at least, more difficult to steal astock of organs or clandestine immigrants. Violence is therefore fairlyrare among the criminal organizations involved in human trafficking.We may thus legitimately consider that the costs are mainly reduced tothe costs associated with logistics and corruption.The less competitive a market is, the less it will be innovative. Drugmarkets are conservative, with little product innovation relative to legalmarket counterparts. 11 However, if a new drug is introduced on the market,waves of violence are observed. We might expect the same for criminalactivities based on human trafficking, but what would constituteinnovation in this field?The pornographic film industry provides a good illustration of innovationwithout (much) violence. Note that it is an extremely competitivemarket: production costs are low, and entry in the business is easy. 12 Initially,the X-rated industry offered poor-quality films. Little by little, thequality improved. The scenarios became more sophisticated, and theshots improved. Progressively, the industry covered all sexual tastes.Now, the catalogue of X-rated offerings allows the consumer a widechoice of sexual orientation and diverse sexual practices. The supply isthus extremely varied. Having accomplished this range, the X-ratedindustry has also been able to renew itself by offering home movies andthen hidden cameras filming without the knowledge of the participants.There have also been films involving actual violence and murder. TheX-rated industry’s capacity for innovation is impressive.The industry requires a lot of labor, which is frequently imported illegally(Mahmoud and Trebesch 2009). Indeed, illegal immigrants oftenagree readily to perform in the films.The need for money launderingTransnational human trafficking is a business without territory. Unlikegambling and prostitution, which tend to serve regular clients and involveactivities tied to specific neighborhoods, human trafficking mostlyinvolves one-time transactions. Additionally, although many people want