Sex Work by Numbers

In social science research, scholars can be challenged when those involved are vested in keeping their activities, experiences, or realities hidden. In the case of prostitution, while well-designed quantitative studies adopting encompassing data are scarce, recent scholarship has made great strides. Addressing the need to inform the predominant value debates with evidence-based analyses, Sex Work by Numbers provides an overview of knowns and unknowns of sex for sale based on cutting-edge science with an economic approach.

Offering an insight into a hotly debated topic where preconceived ideas dominate the public discussion, author Stef Adriaenssens cuts through the academic contributions on sex markets across several disciplines, including economics, public health and epidemiology, criminology, and sociology. Starting a conversation between different disciplinary contributions from the perspective of the economic contribution – often isolated from mainstream social science approaches – Adriaenssens discusses the econometric and economic scholarship applied to this pressing social issue. Harnessing the power of quantifying research for scientific progress, this important study provides a review of the state-of-the-art research for addressing the challenges that sex work may pose for participants, public health, and social life.

Delivering a much-needed view on how to escape the factors that prevent us from tackling problems with the necessary evidence available from the economics discipline and connected contributions, this is an evidence-based approach to advancing our understanding of the (dis)functioning of prostitution markets and the important role of quantitative analysis.

Stef Adriaenssens is an economic sociologist at the Department of Economics at KU Leuven, Belgium. He teaches courses connecting the economy with society and policy. His research concerns underground and informal economies focusing on hard-to-reach populations and activities.