Pricing personal services: An empirical study of earnings in the UK prostitution industry

Peter G. Moffatt, Simon A. Peters

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

69 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The hedonic pricing method is used to investigate the way in which the prices of prostitutes' services are determined. The data used in the analysis are extracted from an internet site, each observation being based on a report submitted by a client. The factors affecting price are identified in a regression framework, and combined with other information to provide estimates of the earnings, both aggregate and individual, for a sub-sector of this underground service industry in the United Kingdom. Comparison of these earnings' estimates with data on earnings from alternative employment then allows us to estimate the compensating wage differential, and also to verify the theoretical prediction that prostitutes' earnings are positively related to earnings from alternative employment.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)675-690
Number of pages16
JournalScottish Journal of Political Economy
Volume51
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2004

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