Future Directions in the Study of Displacement and Convergence among Transnational Crime Flows

This chapter examines some of the pressing methodological issues associated with the study of displacement and convergence among transnational crimes flows and identifies several areas for future research. Building upon ideas from prior literature on the advancement of displacement research generally, the discussion focuses on the utility of relying on both agent-based modeling and regression discontinuity designs as potential avenues through which to achieve more rigorous causal assessments of displacement and convergence effects. The chapter also underscores current limitations in data availability as well as offering suggestions as to how the international community might work to overcome this challenge. The chapter serves as a segue for future efforts devoted to increasing understanding of displacement and convergence, so that the policies and programs that are implemented at the boundaries of nation states might be improved.