10.18453/rosdok_id00003483 Willert, Bianca Bianca Willert http://d-nb.info/gnd/1251330304 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0754-9392 Universität Rostock 2021 330 Economics 2021 en http://purl.uni-rostock.de/rosdok/id00003483 urn:nbn:de:gbv:28-rosdok_id00003483-6 This dissertation investigates modern slavery: Essay 1 presents a theoretical matching model of forced labor. It addresses how oppressors recruit their victims and how certain mechanisms affect the extent of exploitation. Essay 2 presents a theoretical model where slaveholders can buy protection from punishment by bribing corrupt inspectors. Bribery is modelled via Nash bargaining. Multiple equilibria and hysteresis are possible. Essay 3 studies empirically how political decision-making, institutional environment and exploitation are interlinked by creating a novel dataset.