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More sexual Giffen goods

These demand curves are the exception rather than the rule, but nonetheless they appear to exist:

One sex worker...explained why she no longer offered her favorite clients free sex or cheaper rates: "They pretend to be flattered, but they never come back!...There was one client I had who was so sexy, a tai-chi practitioner, and really fun to ****.  Since good sex is a rare thing, I told him I'd see him for $20 (my normal rate is $250).  Another guy, he was so sexy, I told him "**** for free."  Both of them freaked out and never returned...They don't believe they can have no-strings-attached sex, which is why they pay.  They'd rather pay than get it for free."

That is from The Purchase of Intimacy, by Viviana Zelizer.  I take the main point of this book to be yes you can love your prostitute and perhaps you can like your maid as well.  A commercial transaction is compatible with holding deeper feelings for the other party.

Here is a Richard Epstein review of the book.  I liked the book, but it is sad that the current debate needs such a tract.  Here is my previous post on Giffen goods.

Posted by Tyler Cowen on September 28, 2005 at 07:07 AM in Economics | Permalink

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» She Is Not Inferior from Catallarchy
But suggesting that the prostitute’s services are a Giffen good doesn’t quite follow. My understanding of Giffen goods is that the good must be an inferior good, i.e. a good that has many close substitutes where the substitutes have higher cost but als... [Read More]

Tracked on Sep 29, 2005 3:56:20 PM

» Sex as a Giffen Good? from Market Power
From Tyler Cowen over at Marginal Revolution:These demand curves are the exception rather than the rule, but nonetheless they appear to exist: One sex worker...explained why she no longer offered her favorite clients free sex or cheaper rates: They pre... [Read More]

Tracked on Sep 29, 2005 4:25:23 PM