The “world’s oldest profession” prostitution – has been around for millenniums (Head, 2012) –, but because of rapid urbanization, rapid human population growth, and new sexually transmitted diseases (STD) such as HIV Aids, the debate on prostitution is raging most fiercely than over. There’s a plethora of questions that are being asked: Is prostitution bad; what should we do about it; how do we protect the victims of the “sex industry”; is there such thing as voluntary prostitution? Of all the issues debated, the most notable and pertinent is the one regarding the legalization of the prostitution industry. Particularly, how and to what extent will the liberalization/ decriminalization/ legalization of the prostitution industry affect government incomes, industry standards, crime, and other social externalities?
Through philosophical and economical argument, this paper will attempt to illustrate the need for regulations of the prostitution market as well as the nature of the market that would best enforce these regulations. Furthermore, in the course of illustrating the aforementioned fact, the author will attempt to define prostitution, establish the voluntary nature of industry participants, explore the costs of prostitution on different agents, and evaluate different economic models of the current and proposed prostitution market.
