The Effects of Enforcement on Illegal Markets: Evidence from Migrant Smuggling along the Southwestern Border
نویسندگان
چکیده
The Effects of Enforcement on Illegal Markets: Evidence from Migrant Smuggling along the Southwestern Border This paper analyzes how enforcement along the U.S.-Mexican border has affected the market for migrant smugglers. Using a unique dataset that links border crossing histories from illegal Mexican migrants to aggregate enforcement and punishment statistics, we find that the effect of enforcement on smuggling prices is small. Though enforcement has more than tripled over the past fifteen years, smuggling prices have increased by at most 30 percent. Unlike estimates from illegal drugs, the demand for border smugglers is however price elastic. We also show that illegal migrants have switched from heavily patrolled areas to more remote and dangerous crossing routes. These avoidance costs are in fact three times the direct costs of enforcement on smuggling prices. JEL Classification: J61, K42
منابع مشابه
Illegal Immigration and Enforcement Along the U.S.-Mexico Border: An Overview - Economic and Financial Review, First Quarter, 2001 - Dallas Fed
2 The U.S.–Mexico border is experiencing an era of unparalleled trade and exchange. But at a time when legal flows of goods and people are at historical highs, so are illegal cross-border flows of undocumented migrants. Illegal immigration from Mexico became more common in the late 1960s, following the end of the Bracero Program in 1964. The Bracero Program allowed Mexican guest workers to work...
متن کاملIllegal Immigration and Enforcement Along the U.S.–Mexico Border: An Overview
2 The U.S.–Mexico border is experiencing an era of unparalleled trade and exchange. But at a time when legal flows of goods and people are at historical highs, so are illegal cross-border flows of undocumented migrants. Illegal immigration from Mexico became more common in the late 1960s, following the end of the Bracero Program in 1964. The Bracero Program allowed Mexican guest workers to work...
متن کاملFederal Reserve Bank of Dallas the Impact of Illegal Immigration and Enforcement on Border Crime Rates
In the 1990s, while there was a large decline in property-related crime along the U.S.Mexico border, violent crime rates began to converge to the national average. At the same time, legal and illegal immigration from Mexico surged and border enforcement rose to unprecedented levels. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between border county crime rates, immigration and enforcement sin...
متن کاملThe Impact of Illegal Immigration and Enforcement on Border Crime Rates, Working Paper 0303, FRB Dallas
In the 1990s, while there was a large decline in property-related crime along the U.S.Mexico border, violent crime rates began to converge to the national average. At the same time, legal and illegal immigration from Mexico surged and border enforcement rose to unprecedented levels. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between border county crime rates, immigration and enforcement sin...
متن کامل