Space, Risk and Opportunity: The Evolution of Paid Sex Markets

Abstract

The emergence of paid sex markets is a product of various locational economies. By this it is meant that coherent paid sex markets are intimately linked with various economies of agglomeration, synergy, complementarity and 'laddering' whereby an entrant to paid sex consumption may progress from low intimacy/low value added products to those of higher intimacy/higher value added. Physical clustering of traded sex commodities can also enhance the progression of the consumer's ladder by heightening the stimulus to enter such markets for the first time. This paper discusses the above factors in the context of the economic theory of clubs with particular reference to the use of zoning ordinances to control the location of adult entertainment providers.