Steven Leavett's most famous for his book, "Freakonomics," which I thought was an interesting read, to say the least.
Anyway, back to the economics of the World's Oldest Profession:
Economics focus
Selling sex
Jan 17th 2008
From The Economist print edition
Economists let some light in on the shady market for paid sex
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The star attraction there (the annual meeting of the American Economic Association, held in New Orleans) was Steven Levitt, an economics professor at the University of Chicago and co-author of “Freakonomics”, a best-selling book. Mr Levitt presented preliminary findings* from a study conducted with Sudhir Venkatesh, a sociologist at Columbia University.
The results are fascinating. Almost half of the city's arrests for prostitution take place in just 0.3% of its street corners. The industry is concentrated in so few locations because prostitutes and their clients need to be able to find each other. Earnings are high compared with other jobs. Sex workers receive $25-30 per hour, roughly four times what they could expect outside prostitution. Yet this wage premium seems paltry considering the stigma and inherent risks. Sex without a condom is the norm, so the possibility of contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) is high. Mr Levitt reckons that sex workers can expect to be violently assaulted once a month. The risk of legal action is low. Prostitutes are more likely to have sex with a police officer than to be arrested by one.
Pricing strategies are much like any other business. Fees vary with the service provided and prostitutes maximise returns by segmenting the market. Clients are charged according to their perceived ability to pay, with white customers paying more than black ones. When negotiating prices, prostitutes will usually make an offer to black clients, but will solicit a bid from a white client. There are some anomalies. Although prices increase with the riskiness of an act, the premium charged for forgoing a condom is much smaller than found in other studies. And attractive prostitutes were unable to command higher fees.
*****
Although all speakers at the session were careful not to draw very strong conclusions from preliminary findings, a few broad themes nevertheless emerged. In many respects, the paid-sex industry is much like any other business. Pricing strategies are familiar from other settings. Despite evidence of a myopic attitude towards risk, there have been plenty of recent examples of that in the finance industry too. Illegality and lack of regulation are likely to heighten public-health risks. The Ecuador study concluded that rigorous policing of street prostitution might limit the spread of STIs by directing sex workers into the safer environs of licensed brothels.
The business of prostitution is just like any other business. What a shock.
The reason I'm bringing this up now is to answer the question, "How much freedom is involved in the Adult Freedom platform? Where, for example, would an Adult Freedom advocate stand on the subject of prostitution?"
Answer: Big thumbs up, dude!
A key concept of the Adult Freedom platform is the position that whatever consenting adults choose to do behind closed doors is their own damn business and nobody else's. If someone wants to indulge in a little free enterprise, hey! Capitalism is a great economic system.
Of course, there are limits. The exploitation of children is always bad, and there are loads of horror stories about how prostitutes are abused and manipulated into grisly and nightmarish existences.
On the other hand, it's not always a nightmare. The working girls I've met all live lives that are a far cry from the miserable "wandering-the-streets, offering twenty-bucks-a-blowjob" existence that seems to be perpetuated in the mass media. I'm not saying the life of a prostitute is all beer and Skittles, mind you. I'm just saying that it's also more than the bleak "Hookers On The Point" scenario, as well.
Ultimately, if a woman (or a man) freely opts to let the meter run while indulging in a little carnal knowledge, I'm all for it, and a truly sincere believer in Adult Freedom ought to feel the same way.
And hey, if prostitution is legalized, (and this is the liberal in me), let's tax the shit out of it! That ought to pay for a few social programs!
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