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Thread: Economist Study - Why the Price of Commercial Sex is Falling

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Economist Study - Why the Price of Commercial Sex is Falling

    Interesting results of an economic study ... from



    (snip)THE ECONOMIST has analysed 190,000 profiles of female sex workers on websites where customers post reviews. The data cover 84 cities in 12 countries, with the biggest number of workers in America and most of the rest in big cities in rich countries. According to our analysis, the price of an hour of sex with a female prostitute has been dropping fairly steadily in recent years. In 2006 the average cost was around $340. By 2014 it had dropped to about $260.

    A prostitute’s hourly rate depends on a variety of factors, including the services she provides and her reported physical characteristics. Those that conform most closely to the stereotypical version of Western beauty—slim, with long blonde hair and full breasts—earn the most. Those who provide niche services—for example, sex workers who will accept two male clients at once—also command a premium. Location matters too. Prostitutes in San Francisco, where the cost of living is high, charge more than those in cheaper cities such as Prague.

    The fall in prices can be attributed in part to the 2007-8 financial crisis. Even places that have escaped the worst effects, such as London, have been hit. In cities such as Cleveland, Ohio, where unemployment peaked at 12.5% in 2010, prices have plummeted. Migration is another reason prices have fallen. In big rich cities such as London, which attract an ongoing inward flow of (poorer) migrants, they can push prices down. In places such as Norway, where previously local prostitutes tried to all charge about the same, growing numbers of migrant sex workers make such unofficial price controls harder to sustain. The increase in people selling sex online—where it is easier to be anonymous—has probably boosted local supply. Meanwhile broader social changes may have reduced demand. Casual and adulterous sex is easier to find than in the past. Pre-marital sex is more acceptable and divorce easier, meaning fewer frustrated single and married men turn to prostitutes.

    Sex workers complain that they are earning less than in the past. But their incomes may not have fallen as steeply as the decline in prices would suggest. The shift towards advertising and coordinating the sale of sex online means that prostitutes rely less on intermediaries, such as brothels and agencies, pimps and madams. That means that they may be able to keep a greater proportion of their income. But selling sex online brings new demands. Clients contact sex workers via their websites, by e-mail, through Facebook and Twitter. Some websites allow prostitutes to tell clients whether they are currently available; but that means going online frequently to update their status. Such work is time-consuming, so some prostitutes may end up paying someone to do it for them. For sex workers as much as anyone, time really is money - (snip)

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    Default Re: Economist Study - Why the Price of Commercial Sex is Falling

    Did the study take into consideration the ubiquity of internet access? Lower priced escorts now can troll on line instead of in bars or on popular thoroughfares. The internet used to be the high end of the business, now it's used by everyone. I'm assuming this study did not take unadvertised services into consideration.

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    Default Re: Economist Study - Why the Price of Commercial Sex is Falling

    Legitimate questions ... which can't be completely answered without paying the subscription fee to The Economist to access the full study. However a careful read of this article, and the more detailed Economist article at leads to the following probable conclusions ...

    - The only measuring criteria used was 'going price' for an hour of a prostitute's time with a customer. The articles are clear that this does not count 'unpaid' time spent dealing with related issues, such as social media / website postings, client investigation, e-mailing potential clients etc. that support the 'paid' time. This is a concession that the analysts were clearly aware of internet based prostitutes.

    -The second article specifically states that a number of specific online escort sites / customer review sites were studied.

    - Both articles concede ... and indeed take into account ... that easy internet based access has recently allowed lots more girls to enter the business ... not only due due to ease of access via online escort sites, but also due to perceived increased anonymity, and perceived increased safety of 'indoor' work ( as opposed to working streets, bars, illegal bordellos) etc.

    - The second article clearly states that internet based advertising / client investigation / booking has now allowed 'local' girls ( i.e. girls who are natives of the city they work in ) to decide to enter the business today where, in the past, they may not have done so ... because of the lower bust risk made possible by 'indoor' work ( thus very low probability of local bust publicity which could be seen by friends and family ), because they have full control of client bookings ( thus no surprise meeting of friends or relatives walking down thoroughfares, sitting on barstools, walking into bordellos), etc.

    - Both articles concede that the 'supply' of girls involved in the business has also been significantly increased in recent years by the migration of additional girls ... be it from within a country or from another country ( legally or otherwise ). Many of the migrating girls charge lower prices because they do not immediately realize the higher cost structure of the big city they have recently relocated to, and/or many are simply willing to work for lower prices as a means to attract customers in an already 'crowded' market.

    However, the study results which I found most interesting were on a bit different tack. Highest earning girls were found to have long blonde hair, full breasts, a college degree etc.

    There is also some reason to conclude that, thanks to the internet, the business is becoming increasingly divided into an 'upscale' market and a 'mass' market ... with the majority of price / income reductions actually occurring in the 'mass' market.
    Last edited by Melonie; 08-19-2014 at 01:40 PM. Reason: .

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    Default Re: Economist Study - Why the Price of Commercial Sex is Falling

    This was a great article! I read the whole thing in the print version. Was gonna post about it, then forgot. So thanks for sharing!
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    Default Re: Economist Study - Why the Price of Commercial Sex is Falling

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie View Post

    However, the study results which I found most interesting were on a bit different tack. Highest earning girls were found to have long blonde hair, full breasts, a college degree etc.
    How would they know who has a college degree? It's usually not included in classified ads for prostitutes.

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    Default Re: Economist Study - Why the Price of Commercial Sex is Falling

    ^^^ they didn't offer any particulars in that regard ... other than a follow-on article at

    (snip)"The shift online has probably boosted supply by drawing more locals into the sex trade, too. More attractive and better-educated women, whose marital and job prospects are therefore better, are more likely to consider sex work if it is arranged online. Indoor sex work is safer than streetwalking, and the risk of arrest is lower. Rented flats or hotel rooms are more discreet than brothels, so family and friends are less likely to identify the new source of income. Anonymity becomes a possibility, which lessens the fear of stigma. Creating an online profile separates the decision to take up the work from parading for punters."(snip)

    (snip)"A degree appears to raise earnings in the sex industry just as it does in the wider labour market. A study by Scott Cunningham of Baylor University and Todd Kendall of Compass Lexecon, a consultancy, shows that among prostitutes who worked during a given week, graduates earned on average 31% more than non-graduates. More lucrative working patterns rather than higher hourly rates explained the difference. Although sex workers with degrees are less likely to work than others in any given week (suggesting that they are more likely to regard prostitution as a sideline), when they do work they see more clients and for longer. Their clients tend to be older men who seek longer sessions and intimacy, rather than a brief encounter."(snip)

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