Dealing with prostitution across Europe

The Guardian posted an interesting article regarding how politicians are dealing with ever-lasting prostitution and the externalities of this social phenomenon. The answer to why prostitution has been around since forever is fairly logic and easy: there´s  an actual market for it; buyers and sellers, services and products...and prices. But the 21st century calls for a new approach to get a hold on social behaviors the likes of prostitution, and it seems that the efforts made by politicians to "solve" them need help from an economic way of thinking.

The Guardian article reads: 

Politicians across Europe are considering reforming prostitution laws as part of the fight against human trafficking and sexual exploitation. France has criminalised the purchase of sex, a model they have taken from Sweden, which has pioneered a hard-line approach to prostitution since 1999. But where do European countries stand now? -The Guardian. 

The interactive map shows how politicians attempt to regulate prostitution in European countries. However, what can we say from an economic point of view? How can economics shed a light on the regulations concerned with prostitution and its externalities? 

Academic articles for everything

Using a unique random survey of prostitutes in Taipei city of Taiwan, this study investigates the association between obesity, condom use and prostitutes’ price. Results show that overweight prostitutes charge less for their services. However, prostitutes charge more for performing risky sex regardless of the weight status. By further looking at weight and height, we found that the price of prostitutes is only associated with weight.

Source: Chang and Weng (Economic Letters, November 2012). 

Links: Prostitution. Small schools. Spain. Corruption.

1. Legalized prostitution increases human trafficking inflows.
2. Do Small Schools Improve Performance in Large, Urban Districts?
3. Saving culture in Spain (in Spanish).
4. Conditional Corruption: "[T]he decision to bribe bureaucrats depends on the frequency of corruption within a society."

Legalization of Prostitution and HIV

They are always after us and we are always running or hiding away from them. Some days we get unfortunate and get caught and have to part with our cash in paying fines. Some unscrupulous officers even demand free sex in exchange of our freedom," Serite said.

That is from All Africa reporting on the process of the legalization of prostitution in Botswana.  

The rationale:

"They will be able to report men who forcibly put them at risk of contracting the virus, and in turn men who seek their services will no longer abuse them as might be the situation now," . . . 

Given Botswana institutional exceptionalism, my guess is that the rational is correct. See here the countries where prostitution is legal and regulated. Levitt and Venkatesh present an economic perspective on the topic (of prostitution, not legalization) in The US. 


The issue gets complicated if there is a strong expressive function of the law in Botswana in this regard. If this effect is strong, legalization might have some adverse effects, the extent of which are hard to judge a priori.