Relationship Between Smuggling of Goods and Economic, Human and Social Capital of Border Residents (Baneh City in Kurdistan Province)

The present study examines the effects of smuggling on lifestyle and livelihood of the border residents

This research is descriptive-analytic, and data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. The statistical population includes the frontier villages of Baneh, which are located at a maximum depth of 25 km. In sample selection, cluster sampling method was used at three levels of 5, 15 and 25 km distances that 380 households were selected as a statistical sample.

The results of the study indicate a significant difference in the penetration rate of smuggling at different frontier levels. According to the results, those people who had a livelihood dependent on smuggling of goods had higher economic capital, but their human and social capitals are at a lower level, also most border residents believed that smuggling of goods had a positive effect on their livelihoods and that their economic situation would be affected if the borders were closed.

In fact, the smuggling or Kolbari as an alternative livelihoods has promoted the level of household’s livelihood so that they are dependent on smuggling, especially the economic capital. Although it is implicitly pointed in this paper that influential people and those indirectly engaged in these affairs or those that have a degree of supervisory role are the ones who gain a large part of of the profits of various informal businesses, such as smuggling