April 11, 2001. Copyright 2001. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

Oldest profession is £700m industry in Britain

LONDON, April 11, Graphic News: Legalising prostitution and collecting taxes from working girls could raise at least £250 million a year for the Treasury in extra tax revenue, according to an academic research paper published today.

Researchers at the Royal Economic Society found that £770m is spent on prostitution every year, far more than the £400m Britons spend on going to the cinema. 

Economists studied data from a website set up for prostitutesÕ clients and analysed the prices paid for a range of Òpersonal services.Ó

Although it is possible that claims about earnings could have been exaggerated, the findings could be of interest to the Treasury, as it struggles to clamp down on the black economy and raise extra taxes.

Dr Peter Moffatt of the University of East Anglia and Dr Simon Peters of Manchester University estimate gross earnings in the sector are about £770 million a year. Data on the website also found that prostitutes earn most in their youth, peaking at 19.3 years, after which their earning capacity slides. But customers give older working girls, with an ideal age of 30.6 years, better marks for quality of service.

ÒAs economists we are interested in the way the market operates,Ó said Dr Moffatt.

ÒThis area has never been studied because as a black market it was impossible to get reliable market research.Ó

The academics looked at a steamy website called Òwww.punternet.co.ukÓ, which contains several thousand reports describing clientsÕ own visits to prostitutes across the United Kingdom.

Dr Moffatt and Dr Peters found that hotel visits are 84% more expensive than clients visiting prostitutes at their own premises, and inner London -- apart from Soho -- is 35% more expensive than the rest of the UK.

The most common price was £50 per session and the nature of the sex asked for by the client has Òsurprisingly little impact on price.Ó Dr Moffatt added: ÒThe Government may be interested in the extent of income flow from what is primarily a black market service.Ó
/ENDS
Sources: Royal Economic Society, BBC, www.punternet.co.uk