The market that buys and sells prostitution is very similar to other types of human interaction. It has deep roots in history and society, and has survived through the ages; resisting legal and economic uncertainties. It has become apart of Western culture just as much as much as fast-food and jewelery, it is an exchange between a willing buyer and a willing seller. Yet prostitution differs from these products too, as it sits in a market class all its own. For one, the product is sex, and sex is not necessarily an everyday topic for most people, or at least not in polite conversation. Secondly, prostitution is illegal in most of Canada and the United States. This illegality in the market includes both the supply side and the demand side, so that both parties in the exchange are risking arrest and penalty for their parts in the transaction.
[...] Finally, current public policies constituting the prohibition of prostitution should be changed for the good of society itself. (Reynolds, 1986). Of particular significance is the conclusion that citizens, lawmakers, and law enforcers can, to some extent set limits to the kinds of prostitution activities that will take their place in their community. This is one of the basic assumptions for the models of prostitution environments. Given the combination of forces that comprise decision making in a community (business interests, police, citizens, legislators), there will be a pressure for some control of prostitution but probably not a large commitment of resources to that effort. [...]
[...] The Laissez Faire Model of a Prostitution Environment Aspects of Comparison Type of Type of Degree of Visibilit Risk of Risk of Expected Environmen Prostitutio Competitio y of Arrest Violent Profitabi t n Market n Activitie Rival lity s Laissez Streetwalke High; few High Low High High; Faire rs, call barriers visibilit risk; risk; possibili Model girls, to entry police high ty of (Prostitut massage (may need blatant rarely degree large ion is parlours, a pimp). solicitat arrest. of revenues, illegal, escorts ion and rivalry costs but services, ancillary . [...]
[...] The role of police then, may be to enforce crimes of theft and violence within the markets but not to enforce prostitution offences themselves. In the extreme, the police may even ignore street crime in prostitution markets altogether, unless there are calls for service, but this posture usually has dangerous consequences for prostitutes and clients alike. This extreme example is not the usual case of this model. There are instances, however, in which a laissez faire attitude prevails for illicit sex markets (prostitution as well as pornography), while other crimes are enforced with more enthusiasm. [...]
[...] Economic inquiry into prostitution has largely been confined to chapters in books about more general analysis or about economics of crime. Most economic analysis of prostitution takes one or both of the following approaches. The first approach is to deal with the supply and demand in an illicit market in much the same manner as legal markets, to show the similarities of market forces at work. The other approach is to analyse the social costs and benefits of a prohibition on prostitution. [...]
[...] As a description of a prostitution environment, the laissez faire model is one in which the law enforcement authorities do not repress prostitution markets, even though prostitution transactions are officially illegal. In this model legislatures enact laws prohibiting prostitution, but police agencies allow activities to proceed virtually unabated. The police permit this for one or more of the following reasons: the police have a policy (official or unofficial) of non-enforcement because the courts exert pressure not to enforce the laws, (Winick and Kinsey, 1971: 218-219) because the community exerts pressure on the police not to repress prostitution activities, or because they are being paid to look the other way. [...]
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