The Wages of Sin

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

I ran across the following discussion paper , "The Wages of Sin", from Columbia University's Dept. of Economics, June 2009. Authored by Lena Edlund, Joseph Engelberg, and Christopher A. Parsons.

 

http://ssrn.com/abstract=1413899

 

We analyze internet data on the prices and characteristics of some 40,000 escorts in the U.S. and Canada. Escorts earn very high wages, averaging $280/hour. Moreover, the age-wage profile is hump-shaped and peaks during prime child-bearing years (ages 26-30). These two facts are difficult to reconcile with standard labor market theories, but are consistent with a marriage-market explanation: prostitution considerably reduces marriage market opportunities. Finally, we find the hump-shape is attenuated

or absent among escorts who suffer less marriage-market damage: those who service transient clients, those who do not offer sex, and men ...

 

Escorts in their prime-marriage years demand the highest compensation from their clients .... unlike other professions, prostitution substantially reduces a woman's value on the marriage market. The associated "stigma" increases the marginal cost of selling sex commercially, which deters entry and thus sustains high equilibrium prices ....

 

Our main proxy for marriage-related marginal cost is the escort's age. Intuitively, the dynamics of searching for husband change over a woman's life (whether she is an escort or not). We wish to identify the most "expensive" years for a woman ultimately wishing to marry. In other words, during which years in a woman's life would she require the highest premium to neither date nor maintain relationships that would lead to marriage?...

 

Intuitively, earlier marriages face a higher risk of dissolution before the arrival of children, and later marriages face increasing risk of childlessness. From this evidence, it seems quite clear that convincing a female to sit out the marriage market in her late 20s or early 30s would be particularly difficult ...

 

The main source of our data is a website where the clients of escorts review their experience. The reviews include precise detail including price, services performed and characteristics of the escort. The reviews have two components: (1) a textual review which details the experience and (2) a standardized form in which the reviewers are made to assign values and pre-specified descriptions. In each review clients are asked to assign a score (1-10) which rates the escort's appearance and a score (1-10) which rates the escort's performance ...

 

During the period starting December 12th and ending December 17th, 2008, we employ a web-crawling program which systematically downloads the profile, pricing data and the numerical scores in each historical review ...

 

As you see, the authors of this paper propose that the reason escorts charge so much is that they are compensating for the opportunity-cost of not being able to marry. They theorize that this cost peaks during prime child-bearing years (the lady's late 20's), so that's why escorts' price peaks during their late 20's. I will make no comment on the underlying assumptions about women, their motivations, and marriage on which their hypothesis is based.

 

I myself, as everyone knows, am a supporter of the theory that the ladies charge as much as they wish, and what the market will bear. I think that costs are an entirely secondary consideration, although of course costs must obviously be taken into account by the ladies.

 

Just as a fun way with playing with numbers (and not being a statistician), I proposed to myself that the results of the study can be explained by the following hypothesis (again, I can't argue the technicalities of statistics, I'm just playing with numbers). Please don't shoot me, I find this interesting, even though it sounds quite clinical and cold to seemingly reduce 40,000 flesh-and-blood individual ladies to a date table. I know that talking about pricing or ratings at all is playing with fire.

 

It seems to me that the price variance found in the research data from [the website that cannot be named] can be substantially explained by ignoring age and the opportunity-cost of not being able to marry, and proposing instead that the price an escort is able to command in the open market is dependent on two factors, namely (perceived) appearance and (perceived) performance, with performance accounting for about 60% of the price, and appearance accounting for the other 40%.

 

Statistics from the study (I've selected the data from their tables, for average price, average appearance-rating, and average performance-rating - and added my own column with my 40% appearance + 60% performance calculation. Compare this calculation column with the average price/hour column to see the relationship):

 

Age of Escort .... Avg price/hr .... Appearance .... Performance ..... 40%A+60%P

 

18-20 yrs old...........$259 ................ 7.68 .............. 7.19 ................. 7.38

21-25 yrs old...........$280 ................ 7.62 .............. 7.31 ................. 7.43

26-30 yrs old ..........$298 ................ 7.51 .............. 7.51 ................. 7.51

31-35 yrs old ..........$295 ................ 7.32 .............. 7.64 ................. 7.51

36-40 yrs old ..........$276 ................ 7.09 .............. 7.66 ................. 7.43

over 40 yrs old .......$255 ................ 6.80 .............. 7.56 .................. 7.27

[SamanthaEvans 166767]

These kinds of studies always fascinate me. They're full of assumptions and they lead to so many more questions.

 

For example, what do the researchers think the total monthly or annual earnings of an escort at each stage might be? While we tend to charge by the hour, that's hour-with-the-client, and doesn't include all the time that goes into getting that client to come in through the door and hand us the envelope, or the time it takes to do the laundry and tidy up after he leaves.

 

My hourly rate averages a bit over $300 an hour for the meeting, but I might have put four hours into the advertising and correspondence, etc., before I ever see the client and up to another hour after he leaves. So, that $300 translates into $50 an hour. I only start to make significant money when the client re-books. Then, I might spend 5-10 minutes in correspondence or phone calls, have the meeting and then tidy up afterward. My $300 could translate into $150 an hour. Obviously, the best thing for me is to have a steady group of regular clients and not have to rely on new ones to meet my basic expenses.

 

My four hours' time focused on my advertising and correspondence could land me three or four clients--in which case, my actual earnings go up significantly--sometimes, but there are also times when I can put in that much time or more and not book anyone, so my hourly income drops.

 

This is all pretty obvious, I know. I guess the point I really want to make is that I don't make $300 an hour, 20 hours a week or more. But usually when we talk about hourly rates, we tie them to a notional full-time week or month.

 

The ages of the escorts in the survey may or may not be all that important. Certainly, there's a much, much higher demand for beautiful young women than for those of us over 35 or 40. Younger women have an easier time finding clients, no question. But older women don't make it in this profession without both some pretty outstanding social skills and business acumen. In fact, many women quit escorting (as independents) after only a few months because they discover how much more work they have to do to have any success and they're not able, or willing, to put the time into it. People are often very surprised to learn that most of us spend more time on the computer than we do in bed!

[Guest s******ecan****]

Holding an Econ degree myself I know that much of the discipline and those who make up the academic cadres exist in a detached state from the practical realities of life.

 

I think their theorey is too cute by half. I doubt many escorts are making their pricing decisions according to the criteria theorized about here. I find that generally speaking younger SP's charge slightly less until they have developed a good clientle and reputation which then brings the confidence to charge more.

 

As to what happens in the later years I think is harder to determine as the sample numbers begin to get too small to be of any real statistical meaning.

[moonshine 399]

It's an interesting, purely statistical analysis. Biggest problem I have with it is that the data is flawed to begin with. I'm sure within the 18-21 range, the real ages could have varied from 15-30. The majority of SP's I have been with were at least a slight deviation from the advertised age. I don't care, it's quite common, but for something like this it completely blows any validity to theft findings.

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

... As to what happens in the later years I think is harder to determine as the sample numbers begin to get too small to be of any real statistical meaning.

 

Scott reminds me that I had intended to mention the age-distribution in the study, since it's of interest all by itself. (I'm not up for a technical debate on statistical significance, ha ha.) Here are the numbers:

 

 

Age of Escort ........... Number of Reviews:

 

18-20 yrs old ............... 4,190 (12%)

21-25 yrs old ............. 16,576 (46%)

26-30 yrs old ............... 8,864 (24%)

31-35 yrs old ............... 3,817 (11%)

36-40 yrs old ............... 1,696 (5%)

over 40 yrs old ............ 1,142 (3%)

[Nicolette Vaughn 294340]

I find this study very sexist and filled with assumptions. Many women (escorts or not) are postponing marriage and having children until their 30's or 40's and focusing on their career. Now whether you want to call escorting a career or not is one thing but since when are the ages of 26-30 the years of our life that can make or break us? Or ruin it for us to get married?

 

Sure when I was 26, I was more mature than I was at 20 yet still young and had life experience so it was very attractive as an escort but are we washed up after that whether we are escorts or not to seek out a man for marriage? And I certainly wasn't thinking about charging a certain rate because those were the prime years to find a mate. I based it on how often I wanted to work and certain goals that I had financially. Not whether or not it would affect my marital status.

[fortunateone 156618]

The study is further flawed regarding age ranges, if you consider that the majority of reviewers will review sps in that age range simply because the majority of reviewers equate who they see with a perceived level of sexual attractiveness and stamina, etc on their own parts. I think you will find that the majority of 40+ sps, or even 35+, are rarely reviewed by anyone. When a reviewer "type" is trying to establish his own street cred, it won't be by showing everyone how he impressed a 40+ year old woman, but how studly he appeared and performed with a 25 year old.

 

So rates as a reflection of age, not so much. This isn't to say that there are not more in that 25 ish age range. There are, oodles more. It just means tho that those who are in the higher age bracket are just as busy, if not more so, than the average 25 year old. There is less competition in that age group, and they do not need there to be as many clients vying for their attention as a 25 year old does.

 

It is interesting as well that they assume that all sps are single, let alone that they have no children or even that they do not work while pregnant. While rare indeed, there always have been pregnant sps lol. And we have no way of telling solely based on a template style review (we will assume it is T E R, since they are the main ones with an imposed numbering system), which of the sps are single, divorced, married, engaged whatever whatever.

 

You'd think part of their study might include actually discussing this with an actual live sp.

 

Having said that, I think it is a fun study and certainly interesting conclusions. I think it would be a good rebuttal for anyone who thinks rates are too high for some sps lol. Now we can cite a study that proves that 25 ish year old sps must charge more, since they are giving up their child bearing years for the benefit of their clients.