Focusing on the macro-level, macrosociologists analyze the broad features of society such as systematic patterns of human behavior that underlie economic, political, and social systems. Below we discuss some of the ways that macrosociology can inform our understanding of human trafficking. These include specific attention to globalization and the historical development of national economies, worker exploitation and vulnerable populations, and how trafficking organizations and networks are formed and maintained. Macrosociologists come from a variety of theo retical traditions, with important contributions coming from conflict and critical theories.
While a distinction between macro-and micro-levels of analysis certainly exists, we propose that examining human trafficking from both perspectives helps us understand the complex and multiple circumstances in which trafficked individuals find themselves. In order to effectively address the issue of human trafficking, we need to focus on changes at both the micro- and macro-levels.