Working Paper: NBER ID: w20911
Authors: Huailu Li; Kevin Lang; Kaiwen Leong
Abstract: The street sex worker market in Geylang, Singapore is highly competitive. Clients can search legally at negligible cost. Sex workers discriminate based on client ethnicity despite an excess supply of sex workers. Workers are more (less) likely to approach and ask a higher (lower) price of Caucasians (Bangladeshis), based on their perceived willingness to pay. They avoid Indians, set a significantly higher price and are less likely to reach an agreement with them, suggesting that Indians face taste discrimination. These findings remain even after controlling for prostitute fixed effects and are consistent with the workers' self-reported attitudes and beliefs.
Keywords: discrimination; competition; commercial sex market; Singapore; ethnicity
JEL Codes: J71; O17
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Client ethnicity (J15) | Discrimination in pricing and approach decisions (L11) |
| Client ethnicity (J15) | Approach likelihood of sex workers (J79) |
| Client ethnicity (J15) | Pricing behavior of sex workers (D49) |
| Caucasian clients (J15) | Higher pricing and approach likelihood (D49) |
| Indian clients (L84) | Lower approach likelihood and higher pricing (D49) |
| Sex workers' attitudes (J81) | Pricing and negotiation behaviors (D40) |
| Competition (L13) | Discrimination persistence (J71) |